Armadillo Fever
by Vicktur
Summary: Leon has no idea who Helena is even after all they went through in their past. Each time he takes a step forward in trying to find out who she is, she takes two steps back. Now that she is wanted by the American government on grounds of spying, will Leon risk everything for his reserved partner? And will Helena finally open up to her partner now that she has no where to turn?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Diving into the Black**

Leon glanced at his watch. It was now 2:43. He was too early once again.

Leon shifted in his chair at the cafe where he was supposed to meet his partner, Helena, at. Ever since the Tall Oaks and China incident, the two had kept in contact with each other; more so on Leon. He always worried about his friends and Helena was no different. He knew she had lost her only family member and he knew how it felt to be all alone in the world. Leon had Chris, Sherry, Hunnigan, and Ada; Helena had only him. Leon felt it was his duty to take care of her and keep her company. He was her friend and soon to be official partners, it would benefit them both if they got to know each other better.

Leon sipped on his now cold coffee. He was always 30 minutes to an hour early on their coffee meets. They met weekly and talked about whatever came into their minds. Helena seemed hesitant to meet up every now and then over the phone, but always came in the end. Their talks would start awkward but soon stretch to full conversations while the cafe closes for the night.

Leon glanced at his watch again. It was 2:48. He swore time was slowing down. He seemed to enjoy the coffee meets more than Helena. Talking with her was always refreshing to him. It was like therapy. It was better than therapy. He was always eager to their weekly meets at their favorite coffee shop, especially after a heavy day of paperwork. Today was hell and he couldn't wait until Helena arrived to talk about it.

He recalled the conversation he had the week before with her. They talked about their family after seeing a couple come in with their newborn in a baby carriage. Leon talked about his mother and his father while Helena listened on with a smile. When it was her turn to speak, she muttered a few words about Deborah and then changed the subject. He knew she was uncomfortable talking about her dead sister so he didn't pursue any further. He even felt bad talking so lively about his family. He had very little idea of her family.

Leon sighed. He rotated the cup in his hands, concentrated deep on the memory of her saddened face when she talked of the sister she lost to Simmons. He wanted to know. He wanted to know about her family, her life...her. Helena always kept to herself. Even Hunnigan, who knew her before he did, didn't know much about her; and she had full access to everyone's profiles.

Leon wondered, maybe it was him Helena was so secretive. Maybe she didn't want to open up to him. Leon sighed. He didn't know why he was so into her. Sure she was beautiful. Gorgeous even. Even when other agents thought she was "too serious" and even "macho" as they say, he couldn't care less. He didn't like women with flimsy wrists anyways.

Helena was strong. Relentless. Spirited.

And Leon admired her. She let her emotions speak her words and when she did, she spoke with passion. Being with agents who hardened their emotions to become a capable officer, Leon found her personality refreshing.

Leon glimpsed at his watch. It was 2:58. She would be here soon. They had agreed to meet at 3 as always and she was always punctual. Leon got up from his seat and went over to the counter to order another cup of coffee. He would use that to lie to Helena so she wouldn't find out that he waited for her for over 30 minutes. Again.

He was kind of embarrassed of letting Helena find out that he waited for her for a long time. He was acting like a teenage boy who was waiting for the prom queen for a date. He knew he shouldn't be embarrassed. They were both adults. Besides, he got off his work early today and had nothing else to do. So he told himself repeatedly.

"One medium café latte please," Leon said to the cashier. She nodded with a smile and turned over to get his order.

"Is your date late again?" she asked.

Leon sighed. "Stop teasing me Carol, you know she's just a friend."

"Sure, whatever you say Leon," Carol said laughing lightly. She added the milk foam and handed the hot beverage to Leon. "I made it extra hot so she would think you haven't been waiting long," she said with a wink.

Leon rolled his eyes and smiled. "You know me too well."

Leon walked back to his seat. He had gotten to know Carol whenever he visited the cafe too early. They would talk if the cafe wasn't busy. She was good company and was always interested in his relationship with Helena. She would ask such awkward questions about their 'friendship' and Leon couldn't answer most of them with a straight face. She never failed to make him blush about Helena.

Carol leaned against the counter. "So. Did you guys have sex yet?"

Leon choked on his drink. She was starting yet again. "What? Are you kidding me?"

She pouted. "Come on Leon. I'm a college student. We can have sex talks with each other!" she said quite loudly, earning strange looks from the other customers. "Here, I'll go first. I had a sweet Spanish guy inside me last night and-"

Leon cleared his throat loudly and picked up the newspaper he had brought along with him. Carol frowned as Leon started flipping through the pages. "I already know you read through that paper like four times already," she sneered. "Don't act like you aren't interested in my late night pounding Leon."

Leon frowned at her. "You'll get into trouble again if you keep talking with that kind of mouth to your customers Carol," Leon replied.

"Come on," Carol whined. "You know you want to have sex with her."

Leon hid his face with the newspaper, as an attempt to stop this ridiculous conversation from happening. He pretended to be disinterested in the conversation but he knew deep down, he was definitely interested in seeing Helena wearing next to nothing. It was hard, especially when Helena always wore suits that covered her body fully. It was kind of hard to imagine her wearing something tight and form fitting, like a pencil skirt and a low cut blouse. Almost. She would never wear something so "uncomfortable" as she remarked when they had a talk about the clothes office people wore.

Leon smirked at the thought, prompting a grin from Carol. "Ho-ho~ So you two did do it," she said delightedly. "Which way? Missionary? Screwdriver? Butterfly?"

Leon sipped on his drink as Carol grinned widely. "How lewd Leon," she teased. "Is she an animal in the sheets?"

Leon was just about to put a stop to her wild accusations when his phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was a text message from Helena. He quickly opened it, worried that something might interfere with their meet. His eyes widened at the message.

_"I'm in danger."_

Leon quickly got up, surprising Carol. "Leon?! Hey! Where are you goin'?!" she yelled. Leon unheeded her calls and quickly headed towards his car.

Leon drove like a mad man, switching lanes and nearly running red lights. Helena's text message worried him greatly and the fact that she wasn't returning his call worried him more. Even though Simmons was dead and the infected count was under control, the Family was still out there. What if they were trying to kill Helena? But would they make such stupid decisions and attack Helena while she's still in the states, under government protection? What if it's something else? What if Helena has enemies he didn't know about? After all, he knew nothing about her.

Crazy ideas of different scenarios Helena possibly might be in rampaged through his head. Leon finally got to her apartment within 7 minutes. He saw Helena waiting for him at the front door. She motioned him to hurry. He ran towards her and saw that her eyes were fixated on something behind him. Leon turned and saw a couple of black cars entering the parking lot. How did he not see them tailing him?

"Damn it. They're here already," Helena muttered. She grabbed Leon's arm and pulled him inside. "We need to hurry."

"Helena, what's going on?" Leon asked as they entered the elevator.

Helena looked at him with a hesitant look. She stared into his eyes for a brief moment and then turned away. She pressed the 18th floor and the elevator started moving. Helena bit her lips, as if she was still wondering whether or not to tell Leon of her dilemma.

Leon grabbed her arm and turned her towards him. It was just like the time at the cathedral where Helena refused to tell him anything until later on. "Helena. Tell me what's going on so I can help you."

Helena narrowed her eyes. "Leon...I-"

Suddenly the elevator came to a halt, shutting off the lights. Helena cursed and broke away from Leon's grasp. She took out a gun and shot off the entrance to the ceiling. The two heard heavy footsteps outside, gathering closer towards the elevator by the second. She turned to Leon. "Quickly, give me a boost. First things first, we need to get to my place. Don't worry...I'll fill you in everything you want to know."

Leon nodded and bent his knees and placed his hands together. There was no reason not to believe her. Helena stepped on his hands and Leon pushed her up. Helena slid through the entrance easily and quickly gave her hand to Leon. "Hurry," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up hastily.

"Fire!" A man shouted behind the elevator doors.

Bullets pierced through the steel elevator doors and punctured the walls behind it just as Leon pulled himself up. Leon stared down with wide eyes. He turned to Helena who was already climbing the ropes. He quickly followed after and started climbing. "You want to fill me in now? Who's after you?" Leon demanded.

"There they are!" a man shouted.

Leon looked down and saw a dozen of armed men staring at him. Helena turned down and aimed her gun down. She started firing randomly, causing the men to scatter away from the opening. "Leon! Don't stop climbing," Helena said as she aimed her gun at the hitch of the elevator. She shot it and the elevator took a sideways dip.

"Get out, get out!" the armed men shouted. They scurried out of the elevator just as Helena shot the last bolt holding the elevator from being plummeted down. The elevator slid down the passage, creating a cacophony with the metals grinding against each other. Helena grabbed onto the cables and started climbing with Leon.

The two stopped at the next floor. Leon forced the elevator doors open and allowed Helena to slide out first. Helena glanced around. They were on the 16th floor. "Leon, hurry!" Helena pushed the fire exit door open and started climbing the stairs. Leon quickly followed and soon found himself being followed by the same men from before.

"They're here! After them!" the men shouted.

Leon was thankful the armed men were carrying heavy utilities. They were able to outrun them easily. Helena dashed towards her suite and frantically tried to unlock her door. Leon could hear the men getting closer. Helena finally unlocked the door and the two jumped in. Helena made a beeline towards a duffle bag in the middle of the room. She grabbed it and opened the fire escape in her living room. She turned to Leon and extended her hand. "Leon, come with me!"

"Helena, what's going on?!" Leon shouted. "Who is chasing you?!"

"The DSO."

Leon and Helena turned to the source of the woman's voice coming out of the shadows. It was Hunnigan. Leon stared at her. "Hunnigan?"

Behind him, the door burst open and the armed men swarmed inside, all pointing their guns at Helena. Helena stepped back; clutching her bag tightly on one hand and grasping the fire exit handle with the other. Leon stared at the men. The patches on their arms clearly showed that they worked for the DSO. He turned to Hunnigan and then to Helena. "What the hell is going on here?" Leon demanded.

Hunnigan wore a disappointing face. "We're here to arrest Helena."

"For what?"

"Hands in the air!" the armed man shouted to Helena. Helena scowled as she tightened her grip on the fire escape. "I will not repeat myself! Do as I say now!" he ordered.

Leon turned to Helena. Helena stared at him with a hesitating face. She didn't know what she was going to do. She bit her lips. Her plan wasn't supposed to turn out this way. Why did she wait for Leon?

"Helena." Helena snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Hunnigan. She had a pleading look on her face. "Please...come peacefully."

Helena felt guilty. Hunnigan was the first person she befriended when working as an agent. As much as she wanted to apologize to Hunnigan for everything, she didn't have the time. She needed an answer...from Leon.

Helena turned to Leon. The armed men quickly held their guns firmly in their hands at her sudden movement. "Leon...please. I need you," Helena begged.

Hunnigan turned to Leon. "Leon, if you follow her, you will be labeled as a traitor with her," she warned.

"Just..." Leon shook his head. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked frustratingly.

"Helena...she was discovered working for another agency...as a foreign agent. We have orders to bring her into interrogation," Hunnigan started. Helena stared at her with a shocked look. "...For which country we don't know but...she is dangerous Leon. All the files under her name is fake. Leon...She never lived in the states. She never had a sister. We may have evidence that...she was still in league with Simmons during the Tall Oaks incidents. She's not who she is."

Leon stared at Helena. Helena averted his eyes as if what Hunnigan said was true. Everything that happened to them at Tall Oaks...in China...was that all part of her doing?

"Leon..." Helena began. She trailed off as she bit her lips again. "Please believe me when I say that I am being framed."

Helena took a step forward and a warning bullet flew in her direction, barely missing her ankle. Leon turned back to the men and glared at them. "Lower your guns," he ordered.

The men stared at him. Leon was a higher rank than them. They had no choice but to obey. "But sir-"

"I said lower them," Leon seethed.

The men lowered their guns and Leon turned to Helena. "Helena, are you responsible for the deaths that happened in Tall Oaks?"

Helena wore a betrayed face. "Leon, I told you. I'm being framed."

"By who? Who is framing you?" Leon pressed.

Helena remained in silence. Leon grew irritated. He didn't know what to think. He wanted to help Helena and get her out of this mess. But at the same time, all those deaths that happened...if it was her doing then he couldn't just let her get away without punishment, as much as he didn't want to.

Helena looked at him with a crestfallen face. Leon felt his anger fade away. "Leon...I only have you," she said. "I can only trust you."

"Leon!" Hunnigan shouted. "Don't believe her!"

Leon tightened his fists as he made up his mind. He knew he was going to regret his next actions.

Leon grabbed the officer next to him and pulled out his gun, firing into the air. The officers retreated to safety as Hunnigan shrieked, falling to the floor while covering her head with her hands. Helena jumped over the window and Leon followed after. "You better be right about this," Leon growled to her.

She broke into a smile. "Thank you."

Leon ducked as bullet flew past him. Whatever frustration with her was inside of him died out with that smile. He still had some explaining to do with himself. He wasn't crazy to throw his reputation away for his partner. No matter who she was. But deep inside, Leon felt he could trust Helena. And if she was really in danger and being framed, he would do whatever to clear her name. "Thank me later, let's get out of here."

"Leon!"

Leon turned back to see Hunnigan staring at him from the window helplessly. Her eyes begged him to come back. He looked at her and turned away in shame. Hunnigan lowered her head and stepped back inside. She took out her cell phone as the armed men went after the two agents. With a press of a button, she dialed a number.

"What happened?" a voice answered from the other line.

"...We lost Agent Harper," Hunnigan replied.

"What?! How?!" the voice demanded.

"Agent Leon Kennedy is on the run with her," Hunnigan said regretfully.

The man hung up with a nasty grunt, angered at the mission's failure. He rubbed his forehead frustratingly. His assistant next to him wore a worried face. "Sir?" she asked.

The man rose from his seat and stalked around his desk. "She escaped. We need to capture her soon." His eyes glanced down to the profile of Helena Harper on his table. "Or else, it's Raccoon City all over again."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **I was actually done writing the chapter last week but I had no internet until today. I'm at chapter 8 of the story so far but I'm going to space them out instead of mass-uploading them. There are some mistakes regarding spelling and grammar, please forgive. Thank you for the reviews. Always appreciate people who take the time to write them out. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Weight of the Partnership**

The suits quietly went out of the man's way as he roamed through the halls. His presence dominated everyone in his path, with his broad figure and striking eyes that could pierce steel walls. His pace was quick and showed off his impatience. Beside him was his assistant, who was just as threatening as he was. Her heels clicked with each step she took as people stared in awe at her beauty. She wore a keen smile on her face as people moved out of their way. She was always amused at how scared the workers were of them. They were followed by Hunnigan who tried to keep up with the two.

"I'm disappointed in you Hunnigan," the man spoke. His voice was low but strong enough to send shivers down Hunnigan's spine. "I trusted you to convince Agent Harper to give in."

"Please forgive me, sir." Hunnigan lowered her head. "I didn't expect Agent Kennedy to be with her."

The woman walking besides the man handed him papers while giving Hunnigan a side glance. "Agent Kennedy has a clean record. Why would he jeopardize his reputation with the DSO for a rookie agent?" she asked Hunnigan.

Hunnigan adjusted her glasses. "They were partners for a short while-during the Tall Oaks incident."

"That doesn't explain much," the woman replied turning her attention back towards in front of her. She glanced at the man without turning her head. "Does it, Mr. Helion?"

Helion looked through the papers. "Ms. Hunnigan, when I was appointed the Chief of DSO, I was given the responsibility to fix what Mr. Simmons had damaged." Helion stared at the profile of Leon and flipped through the pages. "And to assure that something like that would never happen again; I took in an oath to clean out this department and strive to change the negative image the public was left with the DSO."

He stopped walking and turned to Hunnigan with a face full of discontent. "How can I do that when you recruit agents that work for a different country other than ours? Did you even do a proper background check with Agent Harper?"

Hunnigan lowered her head again. "I-I'm sorry, sir."

"What good does apologizing do, Ms. Hunnigan?" Helion chastised. "It won't fix the damage that's been inflicted to our new slate." Helion started walking again and motioned Hunnigan to follow. "I have looked through the wonder wall, Ms. Hunnigan. And beyond it, lies the perfect image of the DSO. Do you know what I saw?"

"No, sir."

"I saw our dented slate anew and hammered out. It was smooth and even though there were scratches and noticeable marks on it, it was perfect. Do you know how we can achieve that slate, Ms. Hunnigan?"

"...No, sir."

Helion stopped and handed Leon's profile papers to her. "He is your answer," Helion said, staring down at her. "He is our hammer, Ms. Hunnigan." He tapped on Leon's picture.

Helion gave her a small smirk. "You are the closest one to him in this department. He is our top agent and even though he made such a foolish mistake, I am willing to forgive him for his clean record. And now, he is in danger by being with that woman." Helion started his pace once more, leaving Hunnigan behind. "Contact him; send him whatever information you can find on Agent Harper. Stay on his side and watch over him Hunnigan. Soon, he will return and give us our mended slate back."

Helion and his assistant walked away, leaving Hunnigan grasping tightly to Leon's profile. He was right. It was her fault this had happened. If she had looked more into Helena's profile, none of this would have happened. How could she have made such a childish mistake with Helena?

Hunnigan turned on her heels and walked the opposite way she had come. Now it was time to redeem herself. She would search through Helena's profiles and dig up whatever she could find. She was a professional at it. She would find the evidence she needs to prove to Leon of Helena's lies and-

Hunnigan stopped in her pace. She wore a shocked expression. What was she thinking? How could she just turn on Helena like that? What if Helena was being framed? What if Helena was telling her the truth? Hunnigan never gave her the opportunity to defend herself and just dove straight into the information the recon team brought. It wasn't like her to jump into conclusions like that.

She rubbed her eyes. Helena was blackmailed into doing terrible deeds before. What if it was happening all over again? What if it was true and she just back stabbed Helena like that?

Her mind took her to the moment Helena gave her a hurt expression. It broke her heart to pieces when she saw Helena's face. The two went way back to the beginning when Helena first entered the agency as a training agent for the CIA. Helena wasn't exactly popular when she first started. After all, she let her emotions guide her instead of following logic and it annoyed most of her trainees. Hunnigan pitied her and cheered for her in the sidelines. Through that, the two bonded closely and Hunnigan felt like she was Helena's sister. And now, Hunnigan branded her as a traitor without even giving her a chance to hear her side of the story.

Hunnigan grasped the profile tightly and quickly made her way to her office. She can grieve about her mistakes later. She needed evidence...either to free Helena or keep her locked in jail forever. Right now, Leon needed her. More than Helena did.

'Leon...'

Hunnigan didn't expect Leon to escape with Helena. Then again, she didn't know what she was expecting instead. Leon had a merciful soul. He never left anyone behind, as noted during his training days. He refused to leave behind any of his peers in training sessions, which resulted him with a bad score. But his compassion was what won the trainers and his peers alike. It was why everyone admired him. He was a good man.

And now, he was traveling with a potentially dangerous agent. As much as Hunnigan didn't want to acknowledge it, she feared for his safety. There was still a chance that Helena was a danger to be cautioned with.

She quickened her pace. She had to hurry. Two lives depended on her discovery.

* * *

Helion entered his office. His assistant closed the door behind and took her place by the side of his desk. Helion sat down on his leather armchair and sighed deeply. "You placed a lot of faith in Ms. Hunnigan, sir," she spoke.

"She's a hard working woman. I met her years ago when I first stepped into the ISO department. She'll do what is right and take care of her own mistakes. She'll be the stepping stones to mending that slate," Helion remarked, hovering his hands over an imaginary slate in front of him. His hands fell on Helena's profile on his desk. "We'll catch this traitor to the United States. I swear on it, Seanna."

Seanna smiled again as she picked up the recon photos on the desk. "But I wonder, why did we catch her now? Of all the times, why now?"

He took the photo from her hands. "We got an anonymous tip that she was doing shady business behind our backs. We sent in a two man team to find out what she was doing..." Helion cast the photo into the desk. "They came with these photos and soon after, we found out Agent Harper's bio was a fake."

Seanna gazed at the multiple photos of Helena handing a folder to a man whose face were covered. Her eyes were locked on the item that was being exchanged. "What is that in her hands?"

"We don't know yet. But we are speculating they are our intel. Goddamn it. She might have been smuggling information right under our noses this entire time."

Seanna crossed her arms. "...Exactly who was the anonymous tipper?"

Helion folded his hands on his desk. "Regardless who that person is, we can trust them for the time being." He leaned back on his chair and rubbed his temple. "This is Tall Oaks replaying all over again."

* * *

Helena unlocked the door to their motel room. Leon followed closely, closing the door behind him and locking it. "I got this room under the name, Kingsley. We should be safe for a while. We'll spend the night here and leave early in the morning," Helena said, dropping the duffle bag on the ground.

She turned to Leon who remained silent against the door. "You have some explaining to do, Helena."

Helena nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. "...All right. I'll tell you everything now."

She gave him a grave face. "I'm being chased by an organization."

"Who?"

"...I can't tell you because I don't know either. All I know is that there is a hitman named Agent Drescher after me. He followed me home one night and threatened my neighbors." Helena shook her head with a sigh. "I knew I shouldn't have befriended them. He used them as my crutch to get what he wanted. I wanted to tell you but he promised me that he would come after anyone I spoke this with. So I couldn't. I gave into his demands and downloaded files from the DSO servers..."

Leon stared at her. "What files?"

"...The files containing information of the list of B. ."

Leon wondered why the hitman wanted the useless files. His question was answered by Helena.

"Those files contain a secret message left by Simmons."

Leon became alarmed as he got up from against the door. "What? What message?"

Helena gripped her hands tightly. "The password to releasing the hidden compartment of new type B. . They're located in an untraceable submarine not too far from here. The ship is on full lockdown and to even enter it, you need the password. And I know it. So does the hitman now."

Leon couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Helena...how do you know all this?"

Helena gave him a sad look. "When Simmons had my sister, this was one of the information I had to hack for him. At first, I too thought it was nothing. After all, anyone can get information of the B. just by snooping around the internet. But the changes I had to make were so specific; I knew he was planning something."

"But, why? Why go through all that trouble to make a hidden message in the government computer?"

"I know. I asked myself the same thing. Why would you insert such an important code into a government computer. But the computer I hacked was Hunnigan's computer. She holds the strongest computer in our department. It can track even the faintest signal. The submarine has a device on board that prevents it from being detected by any machines. But there is still a signal that can be tracked. It's just very faint. I believe he wanted Hunnigan to find the changes and have her decipher it. Once she types the password into her computer, it will send signals to the submarine, giving orders to release the B. ."

"We need to warn her," Leon said, grabbing his phone.

Helena motioned him to stop. "Don't worry. Hunnigan won't even be able to look at it. I hid the information deep inside the database and replaced it with the normal file. And now, the hitman is trying to release it manually. We need to stop him."

Leon rubbed his neck restlessly and sighed. Helena gave Leon an apologetic look. He had just got off a mission a week ago and now he was forced into another one because of her. Helena knew she should have just gone alone. But with him by her side, she had more confidence, more faith that she would be successful in stopping the hitman. "You were the only one I could trust with this kind of weight," Helena started, staring at her fidgeting fingers. "There is no one I'd rather be with to do this. I need you Leon."

Leon took his seat next to her on the bed. He glanced back at the bed. "Is that why you got a single bed instead of two?"

Helena stared at him before realizing what he was saying and burst into laughter. Leon smiled seeing Helena relax. He couldn't care less how dangerous the mission was going to be. He wasn't going to let Helena to challenge it alone.

Leon placed his hand on her shoulder, prompting Helena to gradually stop laughing. "I got your back, Helena," he assured. "I believe you."

Helena placed her hand on top of his. Leon felt her soft touch. "Thank you, Leon."

Leon smiled in reply and Helena got up from the bed. She looked at the bed made for a couple. "Hm. What can we do about this...Asking for a new room might be hassle. And we should stay out of sight from here on."

"I can sleep on the floor," Leon offered.

Helena frowned. "Let's just share the bed."

"Will you be okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I? We'll be spending more time with each other so might as well start with sleeping on the same bed."

Leon chuckled. "Well, I guess you're right."

Helena smiled. "I'm going to go shower. You should too. We might not get a chance to shower properly after tonight."

With that said, Helena disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Leon stared at the door. He rose and sighed deeply.

He was worried what was going to happen. This was completely different from Tall Oaks. They had no allies to turn to. They had Hunnigan before but now, she was against them. Leon didn't have anything on him. He had his phone that was now turned off to make sure no one could track them. Now if Ada or maybe Chris wanted to contact him, they wouldn't be able to. Leon wanted to tell at least Ada where he was. She was the one he could trust since she worked on her own terms. He could trust her and maybe ask her to give Helena more support.

Leon turned his attention to the duffle bag. Helena had carried it herself throughout their entire escapade. What was inside? Food? Medical supplies? Weapons?

He reached out towards the bag but stopped himself mid-way. It belonged to Helena and he didn't want to invade her privacy. He'll ask her what's inside when she comes out of the shower. Besides, there was no reason for her to keep the contents inside a secret from him.

Helena. He was starting to worry for her even more than before. There was a part of him that believed she was still hiding something from him. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; he trusted her. But there was a feeling in his gut that she was still holding onto a secret. And he couldn't help but feel he shouldn't put his entire trust on her.

'What would she hide from me?' Leon thought.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Helena stepped out of the bathroom. She had new clothes on. She wore a dark brown collar shirt with black slacks. Leon somewhat took comfort that Helena was still Helena, even after what had happened.

"The bathroom's all yours," she said.

Leon stood up. "What's in the bag?" he asked.

Helena raised her eye brow. "That was what I forgot," she said shaking her head. She went over to the bag and unzipped it, revealing what Leon had predicted. It was full of herbs and ammunition for several guns in the bag. "I wish I could have packed more but I originally intended on going at this alone so..." she trailed off as she dried her hair with a towel.

"You were going to go alone?"

Helena sat on the bed, across from where Leon was standing and nodded. "Yeah. After all, I'm the one being targeted. There wasn't any reason to bring in any other people into this." Helena sighed. "But then I realized it was too big for me to handle. It was a last minute decision I decided to contact you, Leon."

"I'm glad that you did. I wouldn't want you to go at this by yourself."

Helena smiled sadly. "I'm still sorry for what I made you go through...with Hunnigan and everything."

"Don't worry. When this clears out, everything will return to normal," Leon reassured her.

She gave him an uneasy smile. "It would be amazing if it turned out like that."

"Why wouldn't it?" Leon asked.

Helena stared at him. For a second, she looked like she was deeply troubled. But in next second, she was back to smiling. "Go take your shower, Agent Kennedy. I'll start planning our next moves."

Leon hesitated for a second after seeing her troubled look but entered the bathroom. Helena stared at the map laid out in front of her. She did good to bring a map with her now that her phone was too risky to use. Helena circled their current location. "Let's see..."

'When this clears out, everything will return to normal.'

Helena stood still for a moment as Leon's words echoed in her mind. She felt her chest becoming heavy by the second as the guilt settled in. The thought of never seeing Leon ever again sickened her. "I'm such an idiot. I should have never taken on his coffee dates. Now everything is going to be complicated," she muttered.

* * *

Leon stared at his phone that suddenly turned on during his shower. It was Hunnigan that was calling him. Leon had forgotten that his phone was a government issued phone. It was far different from a regular phone. Thankfully, the shower was full on blasting so Helena shouldn't have heard the ring. Leon wondered if he should answer it. By answering, he could easily give away their location and endanger Helena. But, it was Hunnigan. She was also calling him through her private number that no one but a very few knew about.

Leon let the phone ring a bit more and waited for it to die down. When it wouldn't stop, Leon turned the phone off and resumed his shower. The phone turned back on a few seconds later and started ringing with Hunnigan's number on the screen. Leon wanted to pick up the phone and answer it. He never doubted Hunnigan; after all, she saved his life countless times. But now, she was against his side. Can he still trust her?

Leon scoffed at himself. He was willing to trust his partner of 2 years than a woman who's been with him during his entire career.

After letting it ring for a minute more, Leon slowly picked up the phone and answered it. "...Hunnigan."

"Oh my god, Leon. Thank goodness you picked up." He could hear the relief in her voice. Even though it was just yesterday he ran away with Helena, he missed her voice already.

"You know I can't talk to you Hunnigan," Leon spoke softly. "I might risk Helena's safety."

"Leon...I want to help Helena," Hunnigan responded. "It was wrong for me to jump into conclusions like that. Please, let me help."

"How will you help? It's too risky for you to be our eyes on the field."

"I need you to tell me everything Helena told you."

Leon glanced at the bathroom door. "...What?"

"Leon, it's for the best. I can help you and Helena that way. If what Helena is telling is the truth, then I can look into it for her and find more information-leads for you guys." Hunnigan sighed. "I feel terrible for what I've done to Helena but please keep this a secret from her, Leon. As much as I don't like it either, she is still a risk."

Leon narrowed his eyes. "So you want me to go behind Helena's back and tell you everything she tells me."

"Leon...don't say it like that. My intel can benefit you both greatly. What if there is a chance that Helena is lying? Have you ever thought of that Leon?"

Leon glanced sideways. She was right. He couldn't turn a blind eye and believe what everything Helena tells him was the truth. He didn't know her enough. As much as he hated it, he needed to consider Hunnigan's offer. As much as he wanted to trust Helena fully, he couldn't let something like Tall Oaks happen again.

"All right. I'll tell you what I know so far."

* * *

Helena finished drying her hair with the towel and walked towards the bathroom. She tossed the wet towel into the basket that was nearby. She was about to return to the bed when she suddenly heard Leon's voice through the bathroom door. Helena cocked her head wondering if she was hearing things. She remained still as her ears started to pick up Leon's voice more clearly through the thin walls.

"All right. I'll tell you what I know so far."

Helena's heart dropped. Her fists clenched at her sides. Her face flushed with anger and hurt. She felt betrayed. She couldn't believe it. Leon had just told her that he trusted her and now, he was sharing information behind her back. How could he?!

Helena wanted to punch him for being a traitor. She wanted to take her duffle bag and leave before Leon could notice her. She wanted to-

Helena unclenched her fists. She stood silently; gazing at the floor as the realization slowly overtook her. She broke into a smile and laughed quietly at herself.

"I guess it's only fair," she whispered to herself. "After all, there still so much I haven't told you yet."

Helena's eyes drifted her to her gloved wrists. She slowly pulled the glove up on her left hand, revealing a white wrist riddled with tiny red speckles.

Her eyes flickered as her memories of her past flashed back before her eyes. In an instant, she found herself strapped to a chair. Helena started to panic when she couldn't budge out of the chair. She knew it was just a memory but why did it feel so real? She could smell the blood from the stained walls all around her. She could smell the sweat off her own body. Helena looked down and tried to break free from the straps. Why couldn't she break out of this chair?

'I-It's just a memory,' she told herself. She felt her heart about to burst from her chest as her fears overtook her. 'It's just a memory-right?!'

A scream jolted Helena up. Her sister was in front of her, screaming for her. Helena felt herself choke with emotions at the sight of her sobbing sister as Deborah begged her to save her. A man in a white lab coat appeared and inserted a syringe in Helena's left wrist. Helena could feel the prick piercing into her skin. She felt the familiar nausea following soon after and Deborah's cries echoing in her ears. Her eyes shook as the black liquid was injected into her bloodstreams, following a trail and gradually fading away into her skin. Deborah continued to scream as Helena felt herself passing out. Her head starting spinning, so did the room.

Helena forced her head up to look at her sister. "Deborah!" Helena cried. Her tears sprung in her eyes as men surrounded her sister. "Please-Please leave her alone!" she begged. "I'll do anything! Not my sister! Please!"

Simmons appeared besides her with a smirk. He turned to the men, "Take her." They grabbed and dragged the screaming Deborah away through the door behind them. Helena screamed and begged Simmons to bring her sister back. She felt herself lose control of her mind as she broke down. Simmons bent down to her level, just by her ear and whispered, "Be a good girl and follow my orders carefully. Then maybe, I'll consider returning your sister back to you."

Helena turned to him with her eyes full of spite and hatred. "You promised me! You promised me that you wouldn't touch her! I'll kill you!" she screamed. "I'll fucking kill you if you hurt my sister!"

The last thing she saw was Simmons laughing at her before her vision faded into black.

Helena fell onto the floor on her knees, waking herself up from the memory. She breathed heavily and wiped the sweat off her forehead. 'It's just a memory. It's just a memory,' she repeated, putting a hand to her chest to even out her breathing.

When Leon came out of his shower, Helena was already in her side of the bed, her face covered by the blankets.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Thank you for the reviews from the last chapter. I'm glad to know you guys are enjoying this story so far. I had some trouble with this chapter so bear with me.

**Note: **Whatever is in ((these brackets)) means that the character is speaking in German. I do not speak German nor do I have any friends that speak it. And Google translating them seems kind of _stupid_. I feel like my German readers will end up laughing during the serious parts due to the terrible translations.

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Hitman Knocks**

_'Apparently, there's a code within that document she gave away. But it's disabled. Also, she's being chased by a hitman named 'Drescher'.'_

_'Wait, Leon what does that code activate?'_

_'...I can't tell you yet Hunnigan.'_

_'Why not?'_

_'Trust me on this. Can you look into the hitman?'_

"Drescher..." Hunnigan typed furiously at her keyboard, never messing up a single spelling.

"Drescher...Drescher...Drescher..." Hunnigan repeated to herself as she picked up her tray at the cafeteria.

"Drescher...that's a German name..." she murmured to herself while showering. "That might be a codename though."

"Drescher...Drescher's Hall...no...Drescher Park...no..." Hunnigan read while stroking her dog's fur. "Drescher project?!...A school project...Damn it..."

"Drescher...the name doesn't have any special meanings behind it..." Hunnigan whispered in her sleep.

Hunnigan dragged herself to work the next morning. Seanna noticed her and raised her hand to greet her. She stopped in mid-track when she saw how disheveled Hunnigan was.

"Ms. Hunnigan?" Seanna called. "Are you all right?"

Hunnigan adjusted her glasses to see who it was. "Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Seanna. Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

"You look..." Seanna tried to find an appropriate word to described but hesitatingly ended with "...dead."

"I must have worked in my sleep," Hunnigan replied back tiredly.

Seanna chuckled but stopped when Hunnigan looked serious about what she said. "I can lend you some help if you'd like," she offered.

Hunnigan smiled gratefully. "I wish I could use your help. But I have no idea where to start first." She sighed.

Seanna smiled back. She took out a card from her back pocket and handed it to Hunnigan. "Here, this will grant you access to some of our oldest files. Maybe you can find something there."

"Is...Is this allowed?" Hunnigan asked, looking at the card and then back to Seanna.

Seanna winked. "It is if no one finds out."

Hunnigan smiled brightly. "Thank you so much! I'll put this to good use!"

Hunnigan took off with the card in her hand as Seanna watched her. Hunnigan was like a child who got money to buy candy. Smiling, Seanna continued towards her destination, the clicks of her high heels echoing in the empty halls.

Seanna took out a compact and checked her appearance in the mirror. She held her jet black hair in a tight bun. She reapplied her dark red lipstick over her lips and checked the rest of her makeup over her pale face. Satisfied with her appearance from the hungry looks of passing (gawking) men, she straightened her outfit, a black turtle neck silk shirt with a tight pencil skirt; and entered Helion's office.

Helion took one glance at her and sighed. "Are you coming to work, to work or to seduce men?"

She smiled, her rosy lips forming a little heart. "Who says I'm trying to attract men, sir? For all you know, I could be chasing after women."

"You? Hmph, I suppose if I was you, I wouldn't limit myself to one gender." Seanna smirked. She placed a folder on his desk. Helion glanced at it. "What is this?"

"The files Agent Harper stole. It's a copy."

Helion took it and opened it. He flipped through the pages and furrowed his brows. "This is just information of the B. . Why did she give this away?"

"We're in the process of figuring it out, sir." Seanna walked over to her usual spot by his side. "We think there's something in this information that can lead us somewhere. He told Ms. Hunnigan that it held a code. We don't know yet what it opens."

"So you're monitoring Ms. Hunnigan's calls?"

Seanna nodded. "Of course, sir. What kind of assistant would I be if I didn't keep an eye on everyone for you?"

"Good work, Seanna. What did you find?" Helion asked, pleased with her performance. Times like this, he was glad he had Seanna by his side. Even though there were times she would slip away on her own, she always returned to his side. She was the only one he could trust. Their 3 years together had formed them into somewhat of a close knit team.

"Agent Kennedy did agree to share intel with Ms. Hunnigan," Seanna started. "But it seems like Agent Harper is keeping him in the dark for now. All we know is the hitman that is chasing them is named 'Drescher'."

"Drescher?" Helion repeated, staring into space as he rubbed his chin. "Why does that sound familiar?"

Seanna stared at Helion. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Helion answered.

A suit entered. "Sir, the unit is ready to depart."

Seanna wore a riddled frown. "Unit? Are we sending men after them?"

Helion stood up. "Come Seanna."

Seanna walked behind Helion as the suit led them down the hallway where the unit was waiting for them.

"Sir, are we sending armed men after Agent Harper and Agent Kennedy?" Seanna pressed. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"We are sending aid to Agent Kennedy. Why wouldn't it be a good idea?" Helion replied.

"They could jeopardize the mission! Are we going to risk losing Agent Harper's trust on Agent Kennedy?"

"We're here, sir." the suit said as they entered the large area. The three stood on top of a steel bridge, overlooking the six armed squad below. Seanna stood behind Helion with a perplexed look.

"Thank you Charles, you have an excellent observation." Helion stepped towards the edge and glanced down at the heavily armed men.

"Waiting on your orders, sir!" one of the men shouted.

Seanna stepped over to Helion's side. "Sir, this isn't a good idea. I'd say we call this off and let Agent Kennedy work on his own."

"And risk losing him to Agent Harper? I think not." Helion glanced over to Seanna. "Seanna, we're not sending these men right into the field with their guns a blazing. They won't be interfering with Agent Harper or Agent Kennedy." Helion turned back to the men. "They are going to protect Agent Kennedy and Agent Harper from whatever threats there will be."

"Does this mean you believe Agent Harper is innocent?"

"Of course not, I'm just taking precautions to make sure nothing gets in the way of Agent Kennedy from finding the truth." Helion folded his hands behind his back. "Killing Agent Harper now will be a stupid mistake. We don't know what she is planning."

Helion stared down at the men. "You have your orders to eliminate any targets that interfere with our agents."

"Yes, sir!" the men shouted in response.

"If Agent Kennedy falls into danger, do not hesitate in assisting him."

"Yes, sir!"

"And one more thing, you are to bring Agent Harper back, alive at no cost."

Seanna wore a dark expression as the men chanted, "Yes, sir!"

Helion clapped his hands together. "Make me proud, gentlemen."

* * *

Helena woke up first. She had her hand already on the alarm due to a long time habit. She waited for a few more seconds and turned off the alarm as soon as it begun to rang. It was 4:00am.

She glanced over to Leon's sleeping body. He was passed out and half naked. She had decided to keep his contact with Hunnigan a secret. She couldn't risk driving away Leon when she was far from completing her mission. After he was done with his shower, Helena pretended to be asleep on her side of the bed to avoid any encounters for that night, especially after her episode.

Helena tore her eyes away from Leon's sculpted chest. She felt her cheeks radiating with heat. She rolled her eyes at herself for acting like she's never seen a half-naked man sleeping in the same bed as her before. She glanced at the curtained window. She could tell outside was dark through the tiny spaces in between the binds. The streets would be empty. It was the perfect time.

She slipped out of the bed gently to not wake up Leon and put on her low heeled boots. She walked over to the table and quietly took out a loaded gun from the bag. She put her holsters on and placed one gun inside. She picked up her windbreaker jacket and zipped it up to hide the gun.

The ice cold winds slapped her in the face as she stepped out of the motel room. She closed the door behind her gently and locked it, taking all the time in the world not to make the slightest sound. As soon as the door was locked well, Helena made a dash towards the streets. It was pitch dark with a very few streetlights on. It was perfect for her.

Helena looked around, shivering in the cold. Her windbreaker did little to help against the coming winter's winds. She darted around, looking for the person she was supposed to meet at this location. She took cover from the icy winds behind a building and stood trembling alone. She glanced down at her watch.

Suddenly, she heard a thud right next her. She quickly turned around only to find herself face to face with a tall figure. The man has his face covered with a fedora and aviator sunglasses that reflected her face on its lens. She stared at him with wide eyes.

It was the hitman.

In a second, Helena had her hand curled up into a fist and on its way to the man's face. The man dodged it easily, grabbed it and pinned her against the wall. Helena kicked the man in his stomach but it did no avail as the man held onto his grip on her tightly. Helena quickly unzipped her jacket. She was just about to take out the gun when suddenly; she felt something pressed against her stomach. She looked down and saw the hitman's gun pressed closely to her.

She stared at him with wide eyes as the hitman shook his head, clicking his tongue. The man leaned towards her, his lips almost touching her ear. "No fun, no fun here," he whispered into her ear. She could smell the faint smell of cigarettes in his breath.

He dragged the gun from Helena's stomach down and stopped at her pelvic. "How would you like if I took what makes you a woman?"

Helena scowled as she threw off the man from her, shouting "Get off me!" The hitman allowed himself to be pushed away by the brunette and smirked. She quickly took out her gun and aimed at him. "I'll kill you right now," she snarled at him and cocked her gun. The man chuckled lightly. He pointed his gun towards the motel room she came out of.

"I kill him," the hitman said, tilting his head towards the room.

"You'll have to kill me first," she hissed.

"You bring him even though you know it is very dangerous," the hitman retorted. "You know he will die, yes? Yet you still bring him."

Helena kept her aim firm, glaring at him with all the strength she had. "I...will keep him alive."

The man scoffed in amazement and chuckled while shaking his head, as if he had heard something stupidly absurd. He took off his hat and cast it on the ground, revealing his ashy blond hair gelled neatly back. "Do you like my hair? ((They say American women love blondes. Is that true with you? I have a date with a beautiful American woman two nights from now. I hope she will love it.))"

"What?" Helena said, taking a step back. She couldn't understand what he had said.

The hitman glared at Helena's gun. "What, are you pointing that gun at me? You will shoot me?" He spread his arms. "Come, shoot me. I will not run."

Helena's mouth twisted in a deep frown as the hitman continued to mock her. He knew she couldn't shoot him. It will blow her cover and ruin her plan. Helena slowly lowered her gun to the hitman's amusement. "Good girl." He smirked. He took a step towards her and immediately Helena brought back her gun at his face.

The hitman's smile instantly disappeared. He stared at her with a blank face, sending chills down Helena's spine. "Get that blasted gun off my face," he ordered. "…before I make you."

It was now Helena's turn to smirk. "I'd like to see you try," she taunted. If push comes to shove, she had a backup plan she could follow if this fell through. "Killing you right now will solve so much of my problems."

The hitman studied her face before breaking into his smile again. "Very bold of you, Agent Harper. And hurtful." He mocked a sad face at her. "You hurt my feelings."

"What do you want?!" Helena snapped. She was getting tired of these games. This wasn't the first time the hitman dropped into her life and toyed with her. He had done the same back in her apartment, with her neighbors. She could still see the terrors in her neighbors' eyes as the hitman thrust the gun at their heads, threatening to shoot if Helena didn't comply with his demands. She felt her anger rise up at the memory of the hitman kicking down Lulu, her 86-year-old neighbor, to the ground besides her husband. Helena was reduced to tears when the hitman shot a blank into Lulu's husband who then passed out from the shock. The hitman had reduced her to a sobbing mess just with a simple mock. He then walked over to her and ordered her to download the files before he did something terrible to Lulu. Helena had no choice but to give in.

She tightened her grip on her gun at the chuckling hitman. "I came to give you warning. Leave the man and we will spare his life," he dictated. "You are doing only yourself a favor when you bring him with you. Right now, right now it is everyone versus you, you understand? Do you really think you two can outrun everyone?"

Helena's regret returned to her, making her believe his words. What if he was right? What if he is right and she is just dragging Leon to his grave that she is digging? 'No.' Helena stood firmly against the ground with her gun still aimed at the hitman. 'Even if I let him go at this point, they will just kill him. Just like my sister.'

"I will protect him," Helena vowed. She glared at the hitman. "Even if it means I won't survive."

The hitman scowled. "((Have you lost your goddamn mind?!)) he roared.

"Hey!"

The two turned to see a man coming out from the shadows. "What the hell is going on here?!" he demanded. "Do you know what time it is?!"

Before Helena could say anything, the hitman aimed his gun at the man and shot him right in the head. Helena let out a started gasp as the man collapsed in front of her. She stared at the hitman in horror as he picked up his hat and shook the dirt off. Helena ran over to the fallen man and examined the body. He was dead.

"You monster!" she cursed.

The hitman put his hat back on. "Take my advice." He pointed to his attire that composed of a black suit. He took out a cigarette from his coat pocket. "Wear black. No blood show. Look clean every day." He then pointed his gun at her; alerting Helena to point hers back at him. "You know, we are alike, yes." He pointed his gun to the motel room and jabbed the air with it. "That man. He-" the hitman waved his hand in front of his face with his cigarette hanging from his lips. "He cover your eyes. He made you think not like me. He is not worth your life."

"You're insane," Helena spat.

The man smirked and tilted his head in agreement. "That, you are correct." He tapped his gun on his chest. "All for love and work."

Sirens echoed in the distance. The man lowered his gun, prompting Helena to lower hers. She needed to disappear fast. The hitman smiled slyly at her. "I find you next time. We will meet next time." He turned his back and started walking away into the shadows. "I kill your boy toy next time and after, let's go on a date."

Helena wanted to shoot him and end everything right then and there. But he was already gone and she needed to find her dealer fast, and get back to Leon. She looked around frantically. It was hopeless now. If the gunshots didn't drive him away, the sirens would have done it. She quickly ran across the streets and back to her motel room.

Helena entered just in time as the police cars were arriving. Her fast and loud entrance woke up Leon who stared at her with dazed eyes. "Helena?"

She breathed heavily as sirens passed through the area. As soon as Leon got a glimpse of Helena's gun he got up, taking his gun from the nightstand beside him. "Helena, what happened?!" he demanded, getting off the bed.

Helena took off her windbreaker. The running made her sweaty and the heated motel room wasn't helping. "I...I was supposed to meet a dealer. A guns dealer. He was going to set me up with some heavy guns," she breathed. "It busted when..."

"When, what?!"

"I met the hitman. He came after me," she replied.

Leon hurried over to her and held her shoulders. "Are you hurt?" he asked worriedly. He looked around her body to find any wounds.

Helena gently pushed Leon's hands down. "No, we didn't fight. But he killed a man. The police will be all over this place."

Leon's eyes quickly traveled to their guns. "They'll be coming over to question everyone. We need to hide our guns."

Helena paled as she realized he was right. Leon quickly took her gun and his and threw them inside the bag. He then picked the bag and slid it under the darkest part of their bed. Soon enough, they heard a knock on the door. Leon motioned Helena to the bed. Helena quickly threw off her boots and jumped into the bed. Leon mustered up the groggiest face he could make and answered the door after the man knocked the third time.

"...Hello?" Leon answered tiredly.

The policeman dipped his hat as a greeting. "Sorry to trouble you so late at night sir, but we were wondering if you heard anything around this area."

Leon faked a yawn. "Why...what happened?"

Helena peeked at Leon. He was a fantastic actor. But it wasn't going to be enough to drive the police away.

"There was a commotion around this area," the police started. "Might if I come in and ask you a few questions?"

Before Leon could find something to say, he felt a hand snake around his waist. He turned back to see Helena with disheveled hair moaning next to him. What made his face flush with red was the fact that she was using the blanket to cover up her seemingly naked body.

"Mmm...What's going on here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

The policeman's face turned a bit red from the sight. "I'm sorry ma'am. We just wanted to ask some questions from you both. We had heard loud noises from around this area and-"

Helena sighed as she leaned against Leon's chest. "Leon...do you think we were the ones making that noise?" she cooed, dragging her finger up and down his chest affectionately.

Both the policeman and Leon coughed at the same time and cleared their throats in an effort to mask their blushing faces.

The policeman averted his gaze. "Uh, excuse me. I'm sorry to have bothered you two."

Helena smiled at the officer as she made her way back to the bed. The policeman stared at Helena collapsing back into the bed and turned to Leon.

"You're one lucky son of a bitch sir, mind my words," the police man said as he walked away.

Leon, not knowing what to say, just closed the door and locked it. He slowly turned to Helena who stared at him with an impressed face. "Nice acting. I didn't know you knew how to act."

Leon stared at her. "You...uh. Wow. I did not expect that."

Helena smirked as she cocked her eye brow at him. She got off the bed and dropped the blanket at her feet. Out of instinct, Leon quickly turned away but slowly turned back when he couldn't resist. He found himself somewhat disappointed when he saw that Helena still had her clothes on; she just had her top buttoned down a bit and folded just under her collarbones. She caught him staring and laughed a bit. "Did you really think I was naked? I don't have the speed to take my clothes off within a few seconds, Leon."

"Well, I'm just disappointed that you didn't even try," Leon joked.

Helena's face grew scarlet but hid it by lowering to the ground to bring out the duffle bag. "We should get going soon. I have a backup dealer I can call," she quickly said.

"Helena."

Helena looked up to see Leon looking at her with his arms crossed. "From here on, we do everything together."

She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when Leon sighed. "We're in this together. I'm here to help you. And I can only help you if we are on the same page."

Helena lowered her gaze but nodded. "You're right." She smiled. "We're partners after all."

Leon smirked. "Good."

Helena brought out the map from the bag. "After we meet up with my dealer and get the guns, we'll head to the docks."

"What's after that?" Leon asked, looking at her.

Helena paused for a bit. "We need a boat to get here." She pointed to the part of the ocean. "That's where the submarine is. It's not deeply submerged so we can get down there with scuba gears."

"Do you know someone with a boat?"

Helena bit her lips. "You're going to hate me for this."

The hitman watched from the roof as Helena and Leon left the motel in a haste manner. He scoffed at the sight of Leon.

"((Who exactly is that man?))" he muttered.

"((Did you know he's 12 years her senior?))" A woman said from the other line of his Bluetooth.

"((You're kidding me.))" He chuckled.

"((We're getting off topic here, Jaeger. Did you get my last message?))" the woman asked.

Jaeger stared down at the dead bodies of the BSAA unit besides his feet. "((I didn't need your warning. I saw them coming from a mile away.))"

"((You have your mission, hurry and go.")) the woman ordered before hanging up.

Jaeger took off his Bluetooth and threw it on the ground. He stepped on it with his shoes, grinding it to tiny pieces so it couldn't be traced back to him or anyone. He stared at the way Helena and Leon were going. He took out his gun from his holster and aimed it at the back of Leon's head. "Pow," he whispered, mocking the recoil movement with his hand. He grinned widely, revealing long rows of his teeth.

"Soon, American."

Seanna's red lips curled into an angry growl. "What...do you mean they are already dead?!" she demanded, losing her cool composure. "I thought you said they were the best of the best!"

The suit lowered his head from the beautiful woman. "We underestimated this hitman, ma'am."

Seanna huffed frustratingly as she paced around the office. Helion remained indifferent. "Calm yourself Seanna," Helion ordered. "I need you to stay level headed."

Seanna breathed deeply as she collected herself. "Of course, sir."

Helion turned to the man. "Dispatch more."

"Sir, if I might ask something," the man started. "Why not send Captain Redfield to the task?"

"Charles, you must think more with the brain God gave you," Helion said tapping his head. "I already know of Captain Redfield's skills. But I also know that he is already a part of an important mission in East. We cannot bother him with this task just yet."

"Of course...sir. I'll go find the next available unit." The man turned away with a small scowl crossed over his face, clearly insulted by Helion's words. He walked away, closing the doors behind him, muttering how his name wasn't 'Goddamn Charles'.

Seanna sighed and Helion glanced at her. "Think Seanna. The hitman has revealed his strengths that can overpower an entire squad of BSAA agents. Sending more men to their deaths won't do a thing but hopefully stall more time for our agents. What would we do at a time like this? Against a formidable opponent?"

Seanna looked at Helion who was expecting her to answer his question. She knew he already had an answer in mind. It was up to her to find out what he was thinking. Helion leaned back against his chair, his eyes on her. "Come now, Seanna. Don't disappoint me."

Seanna squint her eyes as she concentrated. What would be the answer to a hitman? Paying him off? That'd be too easy. Blackmailing him? No, that'd require too much effort. What would be the-

Her eyes widened when she found her answer. She stared at Helion who looked pleased. It was so simple she overlooked it.

"You can't possibly mean-"

Hunnigan stared at her screen. She found it. She sighed with relief. She thanked Seanna again in her mind for giving her the access to the master database of the government. But her face paled when she saw how much results were given to her.

[Drescher related items found: 1,207]

Hunnigan rose up from her desk and poured fresh water into the coffee beaker. She dragged herself back to her chair and slapped her cheeks to stay awake. She needed to, to help Leon and Helena.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Thank you all for the kind reviews. Knowing that you guys love it gives me motivation to write faster. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Hitting the Nerves**

Hunnigan snapped out from her sleep. The coffee in her hand spilled all over her desk from her sudden jerk, earning a disheartened moan from Hunnigan. She quickly walked over to get paper towels for her desk. She gazed at her computer screen. The results were overwhelming. She was a fastidious person and re-read them twice as so not to overlook anything so she had only gone through 27 of them last night.

"Just a few more to go," Hunnigan sighed as she wiped her desk.

* * *

Helena and Leon made their way through the extremely crowded flea market. The two stayed close within each other's sight, in fear that the hitman was close by and also, not to lose each other from the crowd. Leon swung the duffle bag over his shoulder.

"So tell me again why the hitman is still after us?" Leon asked.

Helena dodged a bucket from hitting her in the face. "Ugh! He's trying to stop us from interfering with his plans-"

Helena was suddenly pulled back by a swarm of tourists pushing their way into the markets. "Damn it!" Helena cursed out as she reached out randomly to grab hold of something. She felt her hand being grabbed and pulled from being pushed back any further. Helena found herself pulled into Leon's chest as he placed his arm around her.

"If I lose you here, I'll probably never see you again," Leon said smirking.

Helena rolled her eyes, turning her face away from Leon. "I am not a child, Agent Kennedy." Helena felt her face heating up just by being so close to Leon. She was thankful Leon had his attention focused on getting out of this crowd.

The two were on their way to meet with Helena's arms dealer. There was an alley in the flea market they were supposed to meet him in. Helena had the money wired to the man's account already and all they had to do was pick the goods up.

Helena fought her thoughts from drifting away to the hitman's warning. She knew she was putting Leon in danger by having him with her. She had to do whatever it took to protect him. Even if it meant she had to use her own body to shield him.

A large man bumped into Helena, causing Leon to pull her closer to him. He looked at her. "Are you all right?"

Helena turned away. "I'm fine. I wasn't paying attention." She tried to distance herself from Leon to avoid any more awkward encounters from herself. However, Leon wouldn't budge his hand that was firmly wrapped around her shoulders.

Leon took notice of her discomfort. "I know you're uncomfortable right now, Helena. Just power through it until we get there."

Helena pouted a bit. She wasn't uncomfortable. She liked how close they were. She was just too embarrassed.

"...Although I am a little bit hurt you don't like being close to me," Leon added with a hurtful expression.

Helena couldn't help but giggle at the cute face he made. Leon smiled and the two finally escaped the sea of people.

Leon released Helena from his grasp to her disappointment. He glanced around, looking for the alley where they were supposed to meet Helena's dealer. They found a dark little corner between two houses. They glanced at each other wondering if this was the right place. "How does he even look like anyways?" Leon asked.

"He's your average shady dealer. Just look for a guy with sunglasses and holding a large baggage."

Leon glanced around. There were multiples of people matching Helena's description. "...Right."

"Don't worry, I met him before."

Leon stared at her. "You've done this before?"

Helena gave Leon a baffled look. "Of course not. Leon, I work for the government just like you. This is my first time buying weapons from an unregistered seller," she said as they walked into the alleyway.

"So where did you find this guy?"

"I met him at a coffee shop," Helena said simply, as if meeting an illegal arms dealer in a coffee shop was not a big deal. "He overheard us talking about our favorite guns and he offered me his services. I'm just glad I kept his contact info instead of turning him in."

Leon let out a short, amused laugh. "You're a magnet for weird characters."

Helena smirked at Leon. "So that explains you."

Leon held his hands up, surrendering to Helena's remark. "I guess so." He chuckled.

Suddenly, a large thud was heard in behind them. Helena and Leon both stopped laughing and turned to the direction of the noise. A black bag was dropped in the middle of the alley. Leon glanced up to see a black figure staring down at them. Helena's eyes widened as her eyes recognized the figure.

Jaeger tipped his hat at the two and walked away. "The hitman?!" Leon turned his attention towards the bag in front of them. He looked over to Helena whose eyes were firmly planted on where the hitman once stood.

"Helena," Leon called.

Helena snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him. He motioned to the bag with the tilt of his head. Helena stared at it with worry. The bag had blood soaking through the fabric and wet the dirt around it. Leon took a step towards it and Helena grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I don't think we should," Helena said in a low voice.

Leon held his eyes locked on the bag. "We need to see what he gave us," he told her. He walked closer towards the bag, each step strengthening the uneasy feeling he had in his stomach.

Helena watched from far as Leon bend down on his knees and slowly opened the bag. Leon's fingers slowly pulled down the zippers, revealing the horrifying contents inside.

A man's torn body was rudely shoved into the small bag. There was a bullet mark on the man's cheek and his eyes were gouged out. His open blood stained mouth revealed smashed teeth with bits of white still stuck in the bleeding gums. Leon noticed regrettably that the man's hands and feet were disfigured to the point he couldn't decide what they were at first glance. The man's chest was ripped open and his organs were missing. Leon zipped up the bag and turned away in disgust and solace for the victim. He looked over to Helena, who saw the content from afar, and held her hands over her mouth in shock.

Leon walked over to her, grabbed her arm, and led her away from the blood soaked bag. He felt her trembling.

"...That was our dealer..." she whispered. "Damn it! How did he get to him so fast?!"

"We need to go after the hitma-"

Suddenly, there was a growl behind them. Leon and Helena looked back to see the bag rustling violently. The two agents stood frozen as the snarls coming from the bag sounded too familiar. This time, they both walked over to investigate.

Leon kneeled once more to unzip the bag. He looked up to Helena, who had her gun with the silencer out, armed and ready. Leon slowly unzipped the bag, revealing a snarling face. Leon took a step back and Helena immediately aimed her gun at the infected head. The head twisted and turned, trying to take a bite out of the air with its toothless mouth.

"It's infected," Leon breathed.

Helena, wasting no time, shot a bullet into the head point blank. The growling ceased immediately and black blood profused out of the wound. Helena quickly inserted her gun back to her hidden holster. "We need to take this body with us and dispose of it well," she said. She glanced around if anyone was near them. "We should hurry before someone comes along."

He nodded and zipped up the bag. "We need something to cover up the blood," Leon said.

Helena pulled her windbreaker out from the duffle bag on Leon. "We can use this. It'll be big enough to cover it and stop any blood from leaking out." Leon took her coat, placed the heavy body bag on it, and zipped it up. He tied the sleeves together to make a makeshift handle. Leon handled the duffle bag to Helena and carried the windbreaker bag instead.

"We're down to the guns we have," Helena said in an upset tone.

"We have enough if we're careful," Leon said.

Helena shook her head. "We need guns that can pack a punch. Even a shotgun would be better than what we have now."

Leon noticed Helena's grave face. "Exactly why do we need a shotgun to take down a hitman and some soldiers?"

Helena bit her lips. "There's something in the submarine I haven't told you yet."

* * *

"I trust you," Helion muttered to the receiver as he paced around the office. He stopped and stared at the sunset that basked his office in orange warmth. "...But, not as much as her."

Helion glanced back at the figure standing outside his office. He narrowed his eyes. "We're done talking." He hung up with a click and stared at the phone before stepping out.

Seanna wore a frown the entire time the call was going through in Helion's private office. As soon as Helion stepped out, Seanna huffed.

"I can't believe we going so low to catch a hitman," Seanna ranted. "If any of the higher ups found out that we were doing this...the 'dented slate' that you want to smooth so much is never going to get fixed."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Seanna."

"Are you so obsessed with fixing the DSO's image that you can't even realize that you're putting their reputation at risk, sir?" Seanna said worriedly. "How will you get yourself out of this when it fails?"

"I don't have to," Helion simply said as he took his seat behind his desk. "I have done this before. I am confident that our secret weapon will do fine against the hitman."

Seanna stared at him. "What do you mean, you've done this before? You hired a hit on someone?"

Helion chuckled. "My dear Seanna, do you think so low of me? I was the one who was hit. One of my political rivals wanted me out of the race. He hated me so much, instead of defeating me at the race, he decided to have me off permanently."

Helion turned his chair over towards the large window behind his desk and stared at the city's view. "I wasn't willing to die without a fight of course. So I hired one to protect myself."

Helion stared down at the tiny speckles of people moving around as Seanna quietly listened on. He narrowed his eyes. "...Obviously, our hired hitmen eventually met with each other." Helion glanced over to her. "You can see who won in the end."

"But...this..." Seanna sighed as she shook her head. "This is against the law."

Helion turned his attention towards the front. He looked a bit hesitant as he stared into the space in front of him. "Will you expose me?"

She stared at him, surprised to hear those words. She opened her mouth but pursed it. Instead of responding to his question, she moved her hand and placed it upon his that was rested on his arm rest.

Seanna smiled as Helion looked at her with a comforted face. He moved his hand to hold her hers gingerly.

"I would never, sir," she spoke softly. "If this is what you believe is for the best, then I will...support you to the end."

Helion smiled. "What will I do without you, Seanna?"

Seanna laughed lightly. "You would probably be yelling at 'Charles' for pointing out the obvious and not doing his job well."

Helion chuckled at her words and stared lovingly into her amber eyes. A sudden ring from Seanna's phone ceased their moment. She picked up the phone with her other hand and glanced at it.

"Got business to take care of, Seanna?" Helion asked, letting her hand go.

Seanna nodded. "I'll return shortly."

Before Seanna could leave, Helion grabbed her hand again. She turned and looked at him with surprise. "Don't let me down, Seanna. There are only a handful of people I can trust." He squeezed her hand.

Seanna smiled in response and Helion released her hand. Seanna left the office, swiftly walking past suits and not paying attention to the envying eyes from her workers. Her sole attention was on the contents of her phone. She gazed at it deeply and after memorizing the words, she tucked her phone back into her blazer and continued on in a steady fashion.

"That sly bitch," Seanna snarled under her breath.

She stopped at Hunnigan's temporary office and looked in, curious to see how the woman was doing so far.

Hunnigan sat in front of her computer screen, with determination in her eyes. Seanna smiled at the sight. "How's it going, Ms. Hunnigan?" Seanna asked, popping her head in the doorway.

Hunnigan was startled by the sudden greeting but calmed down with a smile on her face. "Ms. Seanna!" Hunnigan rubbed her eyes. "I'm doing...fine." Hunnigan yawned before finishing her sentence.

Seanna giggled at how tired Hunnigan was as the said woman quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment. "You should take a break before you faint Ms. Hunnigan," she scolded. "Come on, it's lunch time." Seanna motioned Hunnigan to come with her hands. "Come have lunch with me. I'll buy."

Hunnigan glanced at the watch and was met with a loud grumbling noise from her stomach. Blushing, she stood up, sorting her desk before joining Seanna. "I suppose a short break won't do too much harm," Hunnigan said, prompting a smile from Seanna.

Seanna made way for Hunnigan to pass. "Excuse me, let me use the bathroom first." Hunnigan said as she made her way to the women's restroom rather quickly. She should not have drunk so much coffee in one sitting. Seanna watched as Hunnigan disappeared around the corner. She quickly entered her office and took out her phone. She pulled a wire from the back of the computer, unplugged to what it was plugged to before and plugged it to her phone. She then began furiously typing into the keyboard.

[System Restore: C/?]

[Restoring original content: C/?]

[Press 'enter' to C/?]

[Please enter passcode: _ _ _ _]

Seanna touched a button on her phone. Immediately, the phone dialed thousands of diferent combinations of the passcode into the computer and within a few seconds, it came up with four numbers.

Seanna typed the numbers in and pressed 'enter'. "Time's a running," she whispered to herself.

[System Restore Granted]

[Now Restoring Deleted Data]

[Press 'F1' for Advanced Options]

Seanna quickly glanced around to see if anyone was watching her. She pressed 'F1' and entered the advanced options. She quickly typed in the contents from her phone.

[Searching...Searching...Searching...]

Seanna bit her nails as the computer ran through thousands of deleted files from the past, searching for the file she wanted. Hunnigan's laptop hummed loudly as the process went through.

[File Found: Restore? Y/N]

Seanna pressed 'enter' and the computer screen blacked out with names of files roaming down the screen in a manner. Seanna eyes darted to the side as she heard the sound of Hunnigan's heels returning and Hunnigan calling out for her. "Ms. Seanna?" Seanna returned her attention back to the screen and turned the screen off. She quickly disconnected her phone and placed it back inside her coat. Seanna quickly stepped outside and smiled at Hunnigan. "Ready to go?" she asked as she closed the door to the office behind her.

Hunnigan smiled at her. "Yes, let me just get my laptop first and then we'll head out."

Seanna stood in front of the door firmly as Hunnigan stared at her with confusion. Seanna smiled and held Hunnigan's hand. "Do you have to take your laptop everywhere you go, Ms. Hunnigan? You're making me wonder if you're married to your work like most people here," she teased.

"It's not that. You may never know when a catastrophe might hit at any moment. My laptop is my only weapon. I need to take it with me everywhere."

Seanna narrowly glanced behind, her lips puckering in annoyance. She quickly smiled to cover it. "Well, I guess it can't be helped." Seanna moved aside for Hunnigan to step in. Hunnigan quickly stepped in, closed her laptop; while Seanna watched all of her moves silently. Hunnigan tucked her laptop under her arm and grabbed her purse. Seanna smiled coyly. "Let's go, Ms. Hunnigan."

* * *

Leon and Helena stared at the rows of ships at the dock they arrived at. Leon smelled the rotting scent getting stronger by the second. He needed to dispose of the body quickly.

After the encounter with the hitman, the two made a straight beeline towards the docks. All they needed was a boat, with enough gas to get them to their location. The pair decided to steal a boat as soon as it was safe. They just needed the sun to go down.

The two agents stepped onto the boarded walk and started heading towards the boats. The sun was just setting and basked everything in the color orange. The coast was still crowded as it was Saturday and a lot of the families were out, having fun. Leon felt out of place of the happy place they were in. Here they were, heading to a dangerous mission and life was still going on. They walked in silence until Helena suddenly spoke, "...Do you think we can do this Leon?"

Leon gazed at her face, full of distress and fear. He turned back to the path in front of him.

_'What do you mean it's infested with B. ?!" Leon snapped. _

_'There was a reason why Simmons wanted to activate it far away from it. The submarine is filled with all kinds of the infected roaming around the submarine. That was why I wanted more protection.' Helena cradled her head with her hand, feeling the stress of the mission growing on her. 'I was going to tell you when I got the guns. I never meant to keep it as a secret, Leon.' _

Leon snapped back to reality as Helena waited patiently for his answer. He didn't know what to say. He was uncertain at this point if they were even going to survive. Whenever he was facing B. of all kinds, he had a wide range of weapons at his disposal. Now...all he had were handguns only capable of taking down humans, not armor plated B. . Leon was more frustrated at the fact that Helena was still hesitant in telling him information. She had waited yet again until she had enough assurance that he would believe her when he would have believed her the moment she told him. He trusted her but did she trust him?

"No," Leon flatly said.

Helena lowered her eyes. Her heart started beating even faster. She regretted bringing Leon with her terribly. Now, she was going to be at fault if he got killed. If only she had just followed her original plan and went alone-

"I know we can do it."

Helena looked at Leon with a brightened face. He looked at her with a smile. He put his hand on her shoulder and clasped it strongly, giving her his assurance that he was there for her. "We can do this. Trust in me, Helena."

Helena smiled and looked down, unable to look at Leon properly. She was so thankful to have a partner like him. She didn't know what to say in response and just kept smiling. She struggled to keep her smile from turning into a quivering frown.

The guilt inside her was eating her alive.

* * *

Jaeger sat on the bench, overlooking the ocean's beautiful sunset view. He quietly stared at the people through his black sunglasses when his phone rang. He picked up his phone and held it on his ear. "Hallo?" he responded.

"((Did you get rid of Harper's partner yet?))" The woman asked.

"No."

"((What? What's taking so long?))"

"I am going to let him get on board the ship," Jaeger replied. "I will get him my way."

"((Don't waste your time! Kill him now and get Harper!))"

"Why so upset? Nothing bad will happen, okay?"

"((You don't understand. We are in deep shit if you don't act fast!))"

"Everything ok, okay? Masa is on ship now."

"((I know that you fucking dipshit! We have a problem, do you know about it?!))"

"Yes, now please stop being pissy and hang up. I go now to take care of it."

"((Jaeger, you idiot! You fucking idiot! What are you doing right now?!))"

He paused for a moment. "I am watching the sunset."

"((I swear to god, if I find you I will strangle you-

Jaegar hung up his phone and tucked it back inside his pocket. The man besides him chuckled.

"Was that your girlfriend?" he asked.

Jaeger turned to him, glanced at him up and down, and returned to the sunset. "No."

"Sister then?"

"No."

"It must be your mother."

"No. My mother die when my father beat her."

The man became startled. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Jaeger held up his hand. "No. It's old. Do not care now."

The man smiled. "You sound like you are from Europe."

"Yes, I am."

"Which part?"

Jaeger stared at the man. He brought up his finger and pressed it against his lips. "Shh." He then pointed to the sunset and resumed staring at it.

The man smirked. "Well, you're a lively one. I myself came from Kentucky. A real nice place. Too bad not a lot of tourists like to visit there."

Jaeger stared at the man and turned back to the sunset. The man continued to talk.

"I think it was in Washington or maybe Oregon but when I moved out here, I stopped at one of those states-man! There's this restaurant you have to go to! They got the best steaks, the best desserts, and the best beers." The man sighed. "I think it had the word 'Bombay' on it. You should visit there sometimes. Real nice place to take a girl and impress her."

"I take your advice. Now please, shh."

"Actually, I think it was in Washington when I found that place. I was lost from the touring bus and-"

With a swift movement, Jaeger pulled out a knife from under his sleeves and stabbed the man in his waist. The man abruptly stopped talking, stared at Jaeger with wide eyes, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He watched stupefied as the blood poured out of his body and his vision faded to black. Jaeger and the man stared at each other as Jaeger pulled the knife back out. With a low grunt, the man leaned onto Jaeger, his head resting on his shoulder as life faded from his lively eyes. Jaeger quickly took off his coat and covered the man's body like a blanket; and resumed watching the sunset with the dead body as his company.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **Decided to upload this a day sooner than I wanted for you guys. Reading all the reviews you guys left me made me so happy haha. I have up to eight chapters all written and ready to upload. But after that, updates will most likely be slower. I am currently struggling to get out of this hole I dug myself in chapter nine and it's getting a bit frustrating. But I will try my best and try to keep up. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Fever Begins**

It was past midnight when Leon and Helena were finally able to acquire a boat. They had bought the scuba equipment with money Helena and Leon scrapped up from their wallets. The gear wasn't superb but it was good enough to get the job done. Packed with their gears, guns, and a decaying dead body that started to attract seagulls; Helena and Leon took a small old fishing boat near the corner of the docks. Unfortunately, they found out there was too little gas or the engine power to carry them to the submarine quickly. When they went to check the engine, they found that it had been gathering dust for way too long.

"We should find another boat to take," Helena said.

Leon glanced around. "Hm...I was hoping we can just take a boat that wouldn't be missed..." he muttered as he rubbed his chin.

A loud cheer caught the two agent's attention. They caught sight of a yacht in the middle of the ocean, not too far from them. Helena took out a pair of binoculars she bought with the scuba set and went outside the engine room to get a closer look. Leon followed her and stood beside her.

"So? What do you see?"

Helena lowered her binoculars. "Our boat."

* * *

Leon stepped out of the captain's room, dressed in his wetsuit. It clung to him tightly and he actually felt warmer in it than when he was in his street clothes. He started wondering how the $600 scuba suits would feel compared to their cheap ones when Helena stepped into his view.

Leon momentarily stopped everything he was doing (including breathing) when he saw Helena in her wet suit. Helena always wore clothing that left men imagining how she looked like without them. Men like Leon. Her wetsuit hugged her curves nicely-a little too nicely on her bottom. Helena looked uncomfortable as she tried to walk properly in her tight suit. She didn't notice Leon staring behind her and tried to adjust into her new attire.

"Ugh, how annoying. Cheap suits..." Helena cursed as she bent over and tried to stretch the suit so it would properly fit her assets. Leon raised his eyebrow at the sight of Helena bending over. Helena stood back up when she finally felt movement and blood circulating in her thighs. She sighed and stretched her arms towards the sky. "I'd rather wear my suits than this," she groaned. Even though she had done her best to get comfortable with it, it was still too tight on her.

"I can help with that," Leon suddenly spoke, startling Helena.

She quickly dashed around with her face blushing red as a tomato. Had he seen her do all that stuff?

Judging by his smirking face, it was safe for Helena to scream internally in embarrassment. Outside, Helena just turned her head to the side to avoid eye contact with him. "Why didn't you say anything?" she asked in an upset tone.

Leon chuckled as he walked over to Helena and motioned her to turn around. "I'm sorry, I should have." He pulled one of the straps around Helena's waist, making her jump a little at his touch. "But it was the first time I saw you in something other than a suit so I couldn't recognize you for a moment."

Helena rolled her eyes as her face darkened to a deeper shade of crimson. Leon was still tugging around at her wetsuit's straps. She could feel his touch through the thermal fabric as he searched for the strap that made Helena's suit too tight. Leon furrowed his brows in confusion when he couldn't find the zipper-or the strap that could help loosen up Helena's suit. There was no source of light, other than the dim streetlights around them; and they couldn't bring out their flashlights while they were trespassing in a stranger's boat.

Helena let out a tiny gasp as she felt Leon's hands roaming her body. "Bear with me," he spoke softly. "I'm trying to find the strap but it's too dark."

Helena clenched her hands tightly and held in her shivers of pleasure as she felt Leon's hands slowly lowering from her waist to her bottom. She bit her lips as she felt her face heating up to the point where she felt like she was steaming inside her wetsuit. She could swear the heat was making it tighter.

Leon patted around her waist, trying to feel for the strap. He finally found it around the area of her thighs, just below her butt. He felt awkward touching Helena's body like this and wondered which pervert was the one that put the adjustable strap on such a brazen location.

Leon grabbed Helena's hand, which startled Helena yet again, and placed her hand to where the strap was. "Here, you can pull on that strap to loosen up your suit," Leon said. "It'll only loosen by not that much but it should help."

"Th...Thank you," Helena breathed. She brought her other hand and felt the strap between her butt and her thigh. She pulled on it and felt it making her suit tighter. She winced as she felt the life being sucked out of her. She quickly readjusted it and she was able to breathe again.

Leon smirked at her. "Better?"

She gave him a thumbs up without turning around, still getting used to the wetsuit. "I've never worn wetsuits with straps before," she confessed. She turned around, giving Leon a breathless smirk. "Especially ones that are a size smaller than what I wear."

Leon chuckled. "Well, it was all we could afford. Come on, let's get going."

He flung the waterproof bag that now held their guns and other necessities. Helena glanced at the soggy windbreaker. "What should we do about that? We have to burn it."

Leon turned over to a bonfire not far from where they were. He dropped the duffle bag and grabbed the windbreaker off the floor and started walking towards it. Helena picked up the duffle bag and headed towards the bridge, watching Leon over her shoulder.

There was a party going around the bonfire, composed mostly of the homeless. Leon approached the bonfire and threw the jacket inside. The homeless looked confused at Leon and one of them attempted to pick up the burning jacket, baffled someone would burn a perfectly fine jacket. Leon grabbed his arm and shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I was you," he warned.

From the peripheral vision of the homeless man's eyes, he caught Helena's gun glistening in the moonlight. She shook her head as she held up the gun in her hand. He gasped and took off running for his life as his homeless friends watched in confusion. Leon returned to Helena once he saw that the flesh was starting to burn. The foul stench immediately drove the homeless people away, cursing at Leon and Helena for ruining their fire.

Helena smirked as Leon walked over to her. "Ready?" she asked as she put her scuba mask on.

Leon nodded as he put his on. The two jumped into the cold waters and started swimming towards the yacht.

* * *

Hunnigan opened her eyes. She quickly got up, dazed at her surroundings. She felt a pang in her head. She remembered. She had a couple of drinks after having lunch with Seanna. And then everything else became too hazy for her to be remembered.

Hunnigan got off her bed and staggered to her cabinet. She sluggishly felt for her Advil bottle and quickly popped in two tablets. She groaned as her brain pounded against her skull. She never drank, only during formal occasions. Even then she only drank little to keep her head on her shoulders so having a hangover was completely new to her.

Hunnigan dragged herself back to her bed after getting a glass of water and waking up her pet dog in the process who whined at her before going back to sleep. She collapsed into the bed and glanced at the laptop on her desk. She moaned as she realized she was wasting time when she should be helping Leon and Helena.

She gulped down the water and took her laptop from her desk. She opened it up was surprised to see that something finished running.

[System Restore Completed]

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. 'A system restore? For what?' she thought. She quickly clicked on the 'More Details' button. The list showed a single file that was restored. Hunnigan stared at the file. She located the file back in the master database and pulled it up.

She was surprised to see that it was just a list of the B.O.W information that Helena had given to the hitman. Knowing that there was nothing important in that document that wasn't already deciphered by the other agents, she set it aside and continued searching items under the tag 'Drescher'.

As hours passed, the headache in Hunnigan's head gradually disappeared as she drank more water to keep awake and alert. She checked the time. It was 11:48pm. She would turn in at 12:30 since she was still a bit woozy from the alcohol. Her mind kept going back to the file her computer restored from the database. She couldn't recall why she would go through the trouble to restore a deleted file. It also stressed her laptop seeing how it had to go through thousands of deleted files to search and retrieve it.

Hunnigan patted her computer. Her laptop was her life. Without it, she was helpless. Unable to concentrate on the Drescher files, Hunnigan turned her sights on the restored file. She knew she would never restore a deleted file on the master database, especially on her tiny laptop. Her eyes flickered as she grew suspicious. The last person that was close to her personal belongings were...

"Ms. Seanna," Hunnigan whispered.

Hunnigan moved her mouse and clicked on the file. She read it and couldn't figure out why Seanna restored this specific file. Hunnigan knew that there was a secret code within this document-the one that was already decoded. Hunnigan narrowed her eyes as she slowly re-read the entire document. There was nothing different.

Hunnigan sighed in slight irritation. There must have been a reason why she restored it. Hunnigan quickly opened up her documents and pulled out the copy of the decoded B.O.W information list. She pulled the two documents side by side and started inspecting it.

Her eyes widened. There were different from one and another. There were minor changes to the document, so miniscule no one would have bothered to notice. Hunnigan sat silently as she realized this was what Seanna wanted her to see: the original document that Helena made changes to under Simmons' order. Hunnigan silently thanked Seanna and started working to decode the passcode.

* * *

"WOOT! SHOW US YOUR TITS!" the frat boy shouted. He laughed in delight as the two girls in front of him flashed their chests to his camera. The two girls squealed and giggled as another male poured beer all over their chests and winked at the camera.

"WHO'S UP FOR A SWIM?!" the frat boy shouted, taking off his shirt hastily while trying to take his pants off with his legs. He slipped on the floor, causing him to fall flat on his face. He groaned with pain as his camera rolled away from him. His friend laughed at his shame.

"Awww look! The little piggy fell!" one of the girls giggled.

"Ughhh...Shut your fucking mouth, fucking slut," the frat boy cursed.

The girl oinked at him, causing drunken roars of laughter all around. The frat boy grunted as he made his way downstairs to get some ice for his bruised face. The laughter of his friends abruptly stopped but the frat boy took no notice, he was too drunk and lost in his sea of pain. He reached into the portable refrigerator to grab some ice when he suddenly heard water dripping behind him. He turned around to see a masked woman staring down at him on the stairs. Before he could utter a word, she grabbed him by his collar and dragged him out to the deck.

"WOAH! HEY WATCH IT!" he shouted as he tried to break from her grasp.

She threw him down on the floor and brought out her gun, causing the frat boy to immediately fall by her feet.

"SWEET JESUS TAKE IT EASY! I-I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT-JUST DON'T KILL ME!" he shouted as he covered his head with his arms.

"Helena," a man's voice called.

The woman looked up. The frat boy did as well and turned back to see his friends cowering before a man dressed just like the woman.

"Take it easy," he said. "They're just kids."

The frat boy turned back to the woman and nodded furiously. "Y-YES. WE'RE JUST KIDS. DON'T KILL US!" he begged.

The woman ignored the frat boy's pleas and walked over to the man. "There is a lifeboat that can be inflated for them to use. Let's hurry up and get it done," she spoke.

The man nodded. He motioned to one of the frat boy's friends to get up. He then led the quivering male down the stairs and disappeared.

The frat boy glanced at his drunken friends who were all suddenly sober. The girls stared back at him, desperately pleading him to do something with their eyes. The frat boy turned back to the woman standing before them, with her hands on a magnum. He couldn't see her face clearly due to the tinted glass. But he could feel she was watching him, knowing he was going to do something stupid if he had the balls.

The frat boy slowly made his way over to his friends while the woman watched his every move. He tucked himself between the two girls and they quickly huddled up with each other. His eyes were on the gun the entire time. The woman knew he was too much of a coward to attack her.

Soon, the man returned with the male friend who held a yellow package in his hands. The man motioned the friend to join the rest of his entourage. The guy quickly retreated back to the comfort of his friends and stared back at the intruders with frightened eyes.

"Blow that up," the man commanded. "That is your way home."

The frat boy's mouth dropped open. "W-Wait a minute here! Just wait a minute here!" He slowly stood up. "You're going to steal this boat?"

The man nodded. The frat boy shook his head, laughing slightly. "You can't...my dad...he'll murder me."

"We will bring it back in one piece," the man replied. "You have my promise."

"'Promise'?! What the fuck is that going to do?! What if you take it and you never come back?!" the frat boy shouted. He grabbed his hair. "You can't take this fucking boat you hear me?! You're better off killing me first than taking this boat while I'm still alive!"

The woman pointed her gun at him. The frat boy flinched immediately. "Helena," the man sternly said. The woman glanced at him for a second and then turned her attention back to the frat boy.

"This is taking too long," she said irritated, holding the gun at place. "We're on the clock here."

The man walked over to her, placed his hand on the top of her gun and lowered it. She glanced at him again and sighed. She withdrew her gun and placed in her holster. The man turned to the frat boy. He walked over to him and took out his wallet.

"Do you see this?" he asked.

The frat boy squinted at the badge the man presented. The man placed it closer to the frat boy's face.

"I work for the government. We're on a mission and we need your boat." The man placed the wallet back inside his bag. "If you let us take this boat, I will promise you that I will buy you another one if I don't return with it, all right?"

The frat boy stared at the man up and down. Just when the man thought it was over, the frat boy stomped on his feet and started screaming on top of his lungs.

"HELP! SOMEONE FUCKING HELP US!"

His friends immediately joined in and started screaming with him.

The man shook his head, cradling his head with his hand. He turned back to the woman who was leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. "They're all yours," he said with a sigh.

In a matter of seconds, the partying college students were seated in a circle, quietly blowing up the raft. The woman hovered above them with her gun aimed at them.

"You have less than 10 seconds to finish," she threatened.

The four quickly huffed and puffed into the raft madly. The man chuckled at the sight. Within moments, the raft was done and carried the four breathless college students away from the yacht.

The woman sighed deeply and took off her helmet. She swung her head around, loosening her hair that was confined in the helmet for longer than she wanted. "I'm glad that's done with," Helena said as she shook her hair with her hand and combing it roughly.

Leon took his helmet off with a grunt. "Come on, I'll drive." He motioned her to follow him into the control room.

Helena spread the map on the small table in the middle of the room. She glanced at the compass on the ship's control and marked the map. "We are here. We need to get..." She dragged a pen to across the map. "Here, 153 miles east."

"Got it." Leon took controls of the steering wheel and pulled the yacht around.

Helena felt her heart thumping with anticipation and worry as the engine vibrated and sailed the yacht through the waves. They were finally on their way to the submarine. She had hoped to god she wasn't too late. If she was, she would never allow herself to live with the burden.

Helena chased the negative thoughts away and picked up the map. She gazed at it for a second before turning her attention to the reflection of Leon in front of her.

She stared at his back. With the wetsuit on, she could see everything so clearly. She felt her face heat up as her mind took her back to the motel room they stayed in. Leon had remained topless the entire time. Her fingers trembled at the thought of how hard his muscles were. She wanted to touch them at least once, just before Leon starts to hate her.

She clenched her fists and bit her lips. She needed to stop biting her lips whenever she was nervous. Her bottom lip was starting to swell up but she couldn't help it. She was nervous. It was just within some time before everything is revealed to Leon. Her past, her work, her...her real self. Who she really is. Helena narrowed her eyes. If Leon knew who she really was, will he hesitate to put a bullet in between her eyes?

She knew she could trust him. Even if he was revealing intel on her behind her back. It was for the best anyways. As much as she wanted to tell him everything that she withheld, she knew she couldn't. At least, not until the mission was completed.

Helena narrowed her eyes as her face changed into a pained expression. She felt like she was all alone. Even though Leon was right behind her, steering the boat, she felt like she was all alone in this mission. She had told him what he needed to know: her mission to destroy the submarine and the hitman and his group trying to stop them. Those were the important details. Rest was just...troublesome drama starters. It was the past and Helena wanted nothing more than to keep it part of the past.

But she knew it was going to catch up to her soon. It was inevitable.

Helena felt her eyes water. She was going to miss him so much. She quickly wiped them away and tried to focus on the map. Maybe she will tell him soon. He was going to find out sooner or later anyways. Why she joined the CIA. Why she was hesitant in meeting him for their coffee meets. Why she wanted to keep everything of her a secret.

And the real reason why Simmons chose her to be his pawn.

* * *

**AN: **When I was young, I went swimming in the ocean. I had to put on a wetsuit that had a adjustable strap on the back. The strap was pretty long so I had to tie it around my thighs to keep it from getting it caught from anything. Of course, the present wetsuits are completely different. Most come in one size for all. But I needed a reason for sexual tension obviously. It was long overdue. So I gave Helena the cheap ass wetsuit I wore when I was a kid. Hope you enjoyed. I certainly did.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **Thank you for your reviews. I'm sorry if my thanks come off as lazy. I usually don't know what to say other than 'thank you's. But I really do appreciate them.

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**Chapter 6: Death's Shadow**

Leon woke up with a gasp. He had accidentally fallen asleep on the steering wheel. He rubbed his eyes as he quickly straightened himself up. He remembered just trying to rest his eyes for a minute and then blacked out. Leon glanced at the compass and noticed that they were very close to their destination. Leon's eyes turned over to his cell phone besides the compass. He hasn't gotten a call from Hunnigan for a while now. He wondered if she was doing well. Leon wanted to call her and tell her about the submarine. But he knew her line was tapped. It was too obvious.

Leon took in a deep breath and stared at the ocean in front of him. The sky was clear and the waters calm. Even with the settling atmosphere, Leon felt uneasy. After all, he was heading to a submarine filled with possible new type B. . Helena had told him long before that the submarine was used to contain and breed unstable B. . Now they were heading straight into it. Leon wished he had some kind of backup. The way Helena described the situation made him...uneasy.

_I wonder why the DSO isn't sending anyone after us._ Leon thought. _After all, Helena and I are both fugitives._

_Helena_. He turned around to see Helena missing. Leon put the boat on auto-pilot and looked around for Helena. As soon as he stepped out into the open air, Leon was snapped out of his dazed faze. The winds were unbearable cold to his bare face, especially with the ocean spray. But he didn't let the cold stop him and looked around for Helena.

He found her on the back of the boat, staring at the gradually fading glimmer of the city lights. Leon watched her quietly. She had parted her hair to one side to avoid her hair from flying in every direction. She held her arms closely and was leaning against the rim of the boat. For the first time, he was able to see a part of her face clearly, without her bangs covering it.

He longingly stared at her face. It was filled with sorrow and regret. Helena lowered her head with a sigh and stared at the sea with a pained expression on her face. Her shoulders were drooped and there was a sense of hopelessness around her. Leon wanted to go and comfort her, ask her what was wrong. He felt a pang in his heart seeing her in this state. She was his partner; he needed to do something to help her ease the pain.

Helena turned and spotted Leon staring at her with concern. She turned her body towards him. "Is something wrong, Leon?"

Leon shook his head. "I was looking for you. I couldn't find you back in the room. We're nearing the place."

"Sorry," Helena said as she glanced to her side. "I wanted some time alone."

Leon grew worried of her. There was still something she was keeping from him. He could tell by her body movements. She acted just the same when she was trying to get to her sister back in Tall Oaks: distant, reserved, and most of all, hesitating. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" he asked as he closed in on her.

Helena gripped the sides of her arm tighter. "...Not really."

Leon furrowed his eyebrows and placed a firm grip on Helena's shoulder. "Helena, you can talk to me about anything. You know that right? I'm your partner."

"Of course. But really, I'm fine," Helena persisted. "Excuse me."

With that said she walked past him and entered the control room. He watched her walk away with her head lowered and he could have sworn he saw a tear escape her eyes.

* * *

Hunnigan's eyes drifted away from her computer screen to the time on the right corner. It was 3:54am. Her eyes darted back to the screen, not heeding to how late it was for her. She had work tomorrow but she couldn't stop now. She had figured out the 4 numbered code. It was easier than she expected. But why was something so important, so easy to decipher?

Her eyes glazed over the 4 digit code. "What does this do..." she murmured, tapping the tip of the pen on her notepad she was using to jot down information. She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. She stared at the 4 circled numbers on her notepad like she did countless times before.

What was this code? And why was Helena so set on hiding it?

She sighed heavily as the weight of the situation settled in within her. She wore a distressed face. As much as she hated it, as much as she wanted to deny it, Helena was a potential threat. And Hunnigan had to treat her like one. It was obvious Helena wasn't telling Leon everything. Why would she hide the tampered document, going so far to replace it with a fake one to throw off leads? What was in it Helena so desperately wanted to hide?

Hunnigan stopped when she remembered Helena gave the hitman the normal document instead of the tempered one. She bit on her nails. The thought of Helena working with the Family put her to distress. _What if Helena planned something with the code after Simmons failed whatever he was trying to do...and this hitman...this hitman and his group is trying to stop her?_

_Or...it might be the opposite. The hitman wants the code but Helena gave him the wrong one and hid it so that they can't reach it. But then, why didn't she turn herself in and work with us? I could have helped her that way. She is still leading Leon in the dark too._

Hunnigan shut her eyes in frustration and fell back on her bed. She didn't know which side to choose. She wanted to take Helena's side and stop the Drescher hitman. But at the same time, she had to take into consideration that Helena could be in league with someone else. After a moment of thinking, she sat back up and began to type into the keyboard, her eyes refocused on trying to figure out what was going on. It was up to her to find out the truth. It was up to her to find out what the code was for.

Hunnigan reopened the files containing the word 'Drescher'. She was past 100 results in and came up with nothing but junk and useless information. As much as Hunnigan wanted to use Seanna's access key to good use, she knew she wasn't getting anywhere by reading articles about the construction of the Drescher's Hall or the family of farmers whose surname was 'Dreschers'.

"No point in searching for a German name in an American database," she muttered. "I might find more interesting results if I looked in the German database..." She closed the entire program and thought for a moment. Hunnigan picked up her house phone and dialed an old friend.

"Hello? Marco it's me, Hunnigan. Yes, the woman who helped your son fake his death from the mob." She smiled. "You still work for the government right? Mind if you do me a favor?"

The man groaned over the phone. "I'm at work right now. I can get killed over this, Ingrid," he said.

"Don't worry," she said as she typed in blinding speed. "I just need you to search up one name."

"Why do you need this information for? I hope you aren't trying to take over my country."

Hunnigan laughed lightly. "I am trying to find someone that might be from your country. His name is 'Drescher'. Know anything related to that name?"

Marco grew silent over the phone. "...Drescher? How do you know that name?"

Hunnigan noted the worry in his voice. "What is it, Marco?"

Marco pressed a key into his computer revealing a profile. "...We have a wanted persona named 'Drescher'. But it is not a man."

Hunnigan listened quietly as Marco pressed on. "She's been on the run since...well since 5 years ago. She made off with important government documents and virus samples. We still haven't found her yet. This was a big mistake within my country. Normally, when we have rouge agents on the loose, we notify other countries of them so they can keep an eye for them for us. But this mistake would reveal my country to be an old love stricken fool." He sighed. "It was too shameful of us to release her profile. Agent Drescher was one of us. One of the best. I was on duty in her department when the incident happened."

Marco pressed 'enter' and Hunnigan's computer started downloading the file.

"She was beautiful. You'd think she wasn't human when you see her. That was her weapon. She seduced our head advisor and countless others. They foolishly gave her access to the virus samples; to my country's most sensitive information...She could have destroyed my homeland if she wanted."

Hunnigan dropped her phone at the picture of the agent.

"She's a dangerous woman, Ingrid."

It was Seanna.

She took her cell phone from her bag and quickly dialed Leon. She stopped herself when she wondered if she was being listened on. True to her dismay, her computer picked up a second oncoming signal from her phone. Not wasting time wondering who would spy on her, Hunnigan managed to distract the other line by messing up their signals with her computer and quickly called Leon. Her hands shook the entire time but she kept it steady with the thought of Leon being in danger.

Hunnigan sighed in frustration when Leon finally accepted her call after her sixth try. "Leon, what took you so long to accept my call?" she demanded.

Leon paused for a moment, making Hunnigan wonder if she was just talking to static. "Sorry about that, Hunnigan," Leon spoke. He sounded like his mind was preoccupied with something else because he paused for a bit before responding again. "What is it?"

"Look, my phone is being tracked. I managed to disable it so they won't be able to hear our conversation now...But it's just for now so listen carefully Leon."

Leon tore his eyes away from Helena and listened in on Hunnigan. Did her voice just shake? "I'm all ears."

Hunnigan felt herself unable to speak her next words. The shock from Seanna's betrayal shook her foundations, Hunnigan felt as if she could trust no one. She had trusted Seanna and she thought she was on her side. But all this time, she was fighting against her. What if Helena was the same? What if Helena was going to betray Leon like that? There was no reason for Helena to keep secrets from her own partner. What reason was there for Helena to keep information from Leon on purpose? What if Helena is just like Seanna?

Hunnigan opened her mouth and forced her uttering words to come from her throat.

"Be careful of Helena."

Hunnigan hung up before Leon could say anything.

_'Be careful of Helena.'_

Leon stared into space as the call abruptly ended. Did he just hear that right? He looked back into his phone as it shut off. He turned back to see where Helena was. She was back inside the control room, looking over the map. Leon clenched his phone tightly as he walked back inside.

"Helena," he called.

Helena turned around to face him. "Yes?"

Leon hesitated for a moment before making up his mind. Hunnigan was never the type to be afraid. She was always a step ahead, no matter what situation they were in. She was calculating, decisive and now she just left him with a message that screamed, _"I don't know what's going on, please be careful."_ And Leon wasn't going to take her warning lightly. He had to confront his fear: that Helena was someone he should take caution with. He still remembered his first impression of her. Helena was someone he was irritated with. She led him along, refusing to tell him crucial information out of fear that he wouldn't believe her. But he had to take into account that she was the CIA's problem child. No one trusted her and that was her justification to drag him around until physical evidence was in front of him. He knew what he was getting himself into and now, now was no different. Helena was still the same agent from before.

Leon glanced at her. She stared back with a concerned and questioning look, waiting for his reply patiently. Even after all they went through together, Helena refused to open up herself to him. She was still the same, skeptical and unable to open up herself out of fear that she would be turned away as a liar. As much as Leon wanted to believe he knew who his partner was, she was still the recondite person he met during the President's death. Why?

Questions raced around Leon's head. Why is she still keeping secrets from him? What kind of a pseudo persona did she hide underneath to be so distant and secretive? Leon sighed. He couldn't let her lead him around like this no more. This was the end of that. "I'm not-"

Suddenly their yacht jerked roughly, sending the two agents crashing down on the floor. Water splashed violently against the windows and a loud creak echoed from the boat from the recoil of the clash. Helena and Leon quickly stood up after glancing at each other briefly. They ran out and stopped short at the sight of a titanic black submarine towering above them. The words _'The Beloved_' were painted against the sides of the old ship.

"I don't believe it...it's supposed to be submerged...why is it out in the open like this?" Helena breathed with frustration. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned to Leon. "They must have already boarded! We need to hurry!"

Leon quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She confusingly stared at Leon as he stared at her back with a stern face. "Before we head out into this submarine...I want you to tell me everything you're holding back on me."

"What-"

"Helena!" Leon snapped.

Helena became startled at his sudden break. Leon quickly recomposed his calm demeanor with a deep breath. "I need to know everything about this mission. The people, this ship, and you. I know you're holding back on some things."

Helena stared at him with a hesitating face. Was this really the end, already?

As if God had heard her pleas, the submarine started to sink. Leon turned his attention to the submarine. "Shit!" he cursed.

Helena turned around as well. Her eyes were locked on the entrance above them. "We need to get into that opening before it sinks!" She turned to Leon, about to regret the words coming out of her mouth. "And I'll tell you everything, I swear."

Leon gazed at her face before nodding. The two grabbed their guns and dove straight into the water. Helena was able to reach the entrance first. Thankfully, the ship was still out of the water so she was able to open it easily. Leon caught up to her and helped her close the steel door as the water started pouring in. With much luck, they were able to shut the door behind them just as the submarine was fully submerged.

The two collapsed and took off their masks, breathing heavily. Leon rose up, with his gun in hand and pulled Helena up. "We're not alone. The hitman's group should be in here," she told him. She unloaded her gun to check if she was good with ammo. "Let's get to a safe place first and you can ask me whatever you want. And I won't hold back."

"All right. Let's go." Leon held the gun close to him. He glanced at her shortly before they descended into the Beloved. He had a strange gut feeling he wasn't looking forward to hearing about her past.

Helena followed Leon quietly. Her face darkened. She was far from completing the mission. Telling Leon everything will jeopardize her chances of succeeding. He still had contact with Hunnigan, although inside the submarine there were no signals so she would be safe.

She needed to use Leon until the end and then, he can do whatever the hell he wants to her. Whether it was shooting her or leaving her to die by the infected, she didn't care. At least then, the guilt inside her will finally disappear.

Helena griped her gun. She wondered what she will have to do if Leon forced the truth and the details of everything from her before the mission was completed. She could always lie again. She did it before. But what if he sees right through her lies? He would surely try to kill her after learning how much deaths and terror she caused in the past. Leon was a man of honor. He was a protector of people. If he learned what she had done...will she shoot him before he aims his gun at her?

She narrowed her eyes, staring at the back of Leon's head. If push came to shove then-

Helena closed her eyes for a moment and opened them. She took in a deep breath. She would tell him whatever he wanted to hear. She will tell him about the hitman's connection to her, the group behind this plan, and no more. She would rather die than tell him she was working alongside with this group.

_How long has it been?_ Helena treaded quietly behind Leon as they cautiously glanced around their surroundings. The submarine hall they were in was long and narrow with many corners, making it seem like a maze. Leon stopped at every corner, halting Helena with a motion of his hand. He would lean his head out and peek out; and if the coast was clear, he would tread on. Helena wondered if he knew where he was heading because they were heading the wrong way.

_How long has it been?_ Helena's mind asked again. Helena acknowledged the repeated question. It's been over 7 years since she was a part of the group. She was taken at a young age and was woven into the group forcibly. Her memories of her attempted escapades entered her mind. Those always led to acrid results. They beat her mercilessly for each escape she attempted. The beatings were always worse than the previous. Helena unconsciously put her hand on the side of her waist. That was their favorite place to hurt her. There were no more bruises and cuts there but the imaginary scars remained, reminding her to never cross the group ever again. She still remembered the day when Death was just at its reach of her soul.

She was 18 at the time. They had pumped her with new viruses from India and left her to her agony in her room-as they liked to call it. Barred windows, a dirty mattress with a thin sheet, and the rats to keep her company. She called it a prison. She could still remember the violent pain she suffered from the viruses inside her body in that room. Her body fought against the new invaders but was unable to protect her for long. The virus consumed her, turning her skin to black and her brown eyes to red. As she sprawled on the floor, her mouth gasping for mercy, her eyes spotted a black figure in the corner of the room. It stood there and watched her silently. She begged the figure to help her but her words came out spluttering and filled with spit. Her tongue became swollen and Helena knew it was Death she was staring at. Soon, breathing became difficult. When her vision started to fade in and out, the figure approached her. It glided over the floor gracefully and bent down next to her. Death looked like a person on fire. It was covered with black fire and smoke fumed around. Just as it was about to reach out to her with its smoking hand, Helena felt a sudden blow on her chest. She turned to a new figure and saw _him_ stabbing a syringe of blue liquid on her chest. As he pushed the liquid into her body, almost instantly, Death disappeared and Helena's body overpowered the viruses. She coughed and her nose and mouth greedily taking in the air her body desperately craved for. The black cleared from her skin and her brown eyes returned from the blood red. The pain and suffering was erased from her memory but the nightmares of that day never ceased.

She saw Death wherever she went. It followed her everywhere when she was in Europe and when she moved to the United States. It never bothered her. It never made an attempt to talk to her. It just stood in the corner of her vision, continuously reminding her that Death was always close by, waiting for her to slip and make a mistake.

Death's sole presence made her overly cautious. There were times when it would leave her to latch onto people around her. She saw it as an augury. Once it was latched onto someone, Helena knew that person was fated to die soon. And when it started follow people she cared about, she grew paranoid. She would make wild accusations that would lead her into becoming CIA's problem child. In most cases, she was able to save the person from Death's clutches but they always ended with her looking insane. After all, who would believe that she could see Death?

Death disappeared when she met Leon. For some strange reason, after Death latched onto the President, it disappeared as soon as he was dead. It never returned to Helena's sight when she began her life as Leon's partner. Helena became confident. She began to see life as something to look forward to. Even when the group came back for her, Death was nowhere to be found.

Helena always thought it was because of Leon. He had freed her from Death. She could rely on him to watch her back. With him around, she was always focused and determined because she knew he could save her. But now...

Helena slowly turned her head back over her shoulder and stared at the scorching black figure standing in the darkest part of the corridor.

She didn't know what to do.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **School's a bitch. I'm not happy with this chapter but it was either this or you guys waiting another week for an update. Thanks for reviewing. They help a lot.

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**Chapter Seven: The Hitman's Woman**

Jaeger quietly stalked around the corridors of the submarine. His eyes darted around his surroundings in his black rimmed glasses. His steps were hesitant with each coming corners encased in darkness. The lights down where he was were either dead or dying with each flicker. The floor was filled with the infected and Jaeger had already met more than he counted. They were easy for him to subdue as they were starved and weak but due to sheer numbers, he was left worn out. Only when he realized that he could not just take all at once and he had started to tread cautiously. After what it seemed like an hour, Jaeger stopped walking and slowly acknowledged the feeling he had hours ago that was constantly brushed aside due to his pride.

He was lost.

He heard a stomp behind him, followed by a snarl. He turned around to see a large beast growling at him, bearing it's fangs that protruded from all sides of its mouth. It stood at least 3 feet taller than him and held a muscular body throbbing with deep knife wounds. "You survived?" Jaeger looked both impressed and frustrated as the monster roared and lunged at him with its claws bearing. Jaeger dodged swiftly and jumped on the monster, grabbing onto the back. The beast jerked around violently, trying throw Jaeger off. Jaeger quickly stabbed the monster's neck and twisted it around in its flesh. The monster's skin was tough and it took all of Jaeger's remaining strength to force the knife to twist. With a ear-screeching roar, the monster grabbed Jaeger and threw him off its shoulder fiercely. Jaeger crashed onto the wall on his back and dropped roughly onto the floor, head first. Jaeger's mouth twisted into a hateful snarl as the monster lunged at him again. Jaeger quickly rolled away to safety and with a blunt force, speared his knife squarely on the monster's head. Jaeger quickly jumped back as the monster staggered around with the knife embedded into its skull in a dazed faze. With one last screech, the monster toppled over, splattering blood everywhere.

Jaeger's steel blue eyes glared around, making sure there weren't any more surprises. Surely the monster's screech would have attracted more infected if there was any around. This was the reason why he couldn't use his guns. He had already made a mistake before and had to fight off dozens of the infected in the dark hallways.

"((Goddamn it. Why the hell are they released?!))" he muttered to himself. He took off his overcoat after pulling out his phone from the pocket and cast the coat down. He rolled up the sleeves to his collared shirt. He was sweating like a mad man. It was at least 80 degrees in there. Jaeger loosened the collar of his shirt and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a swipe of his arm. He stepped over the carcass and continued his way. He didn't want to throw away his $600 Italian overcoat but he sure as hell wasn't going to carry it with in while he was in an infested submarine.

He checked his phone time to time as he walked, trying to see if one of his allies had contacted him. He was deep inside the submarine and had no idea where he was heading. As soon as he entered the submarine, he took a detour thinking that he was going the right way and ended up in the dark halls. He had no signal on his phone and had to rely on the private line he and his allies shared. Unfortunately, no one was returning his calls, adding onto his frustration.

There was a sudden crunching noise in front of him. Jaeger quickly stopped and looked up to see a two headed man-like figure feasting on a fallen beast. Its four large, gaping round eyes were pitch black and focused on the carcass. It had two elongated arms that grabbed the nearest flesh and shoved it inside its lip-less, large mouth; big enough to fit in a infant whole. The monster's body resembled a normal male body, except it looked like the body was boiled. Veins were clearly visible against the seemingly latex skin. The monster's head bobbed up and down as it scarfed down on the infected's flesh, the random patches of black hair on its head whipping back and forth. It made eye contact with Jaeger when he took a step back, accidentally stepping on a shard of bone. The monster stopped eating and formed its mouth to what resembled a startled frown. Jaeger felt his blood run cold at the sight of the monster standing up like a human and staring at him. His eyes fell to the bloated belly on the monster, possibly full of flesh and organs.

Jaeger brought out his gun in a second and shot the monster in the face. The monster screeched in pain and fell to the ground, grabbing hold of its bleeding face. The scream sounded like a woman in agonizing pain, sending even more chills down his spine. Jaeger knew he was putting himself at risk by using a loud weapon but he had a gut feeling if he went close to the beast, it will be the end of him. He pulled the trigger again, shooting it in the leg when it wouldn't go down. The monster flinched again and screamed, tossing its body around on the ground. He scowled at the writhing monster as he aimed at the head, planning to end the life of this grotesque creature. The monster abruptly stopped and stared at Jaeger between the gaps of its fingers, causing Jaeger to take two steps back. The monster rose, still holding onto its wounded face. It slowly lowered its face, revealing the bullet wound that slowly pushed the shell back out. The bullet fell onto the ground with a 'clink'. It was followed by a second 'clink' as the bullet from its leg popped out.

Jaeger stared at the monster as the monster glared right back, seemingly mocking him. Two stood silently until Jaeger quickly took off running. The humanoid monster screamed and charged after him, flailing its arms around.

"Goddamn it!" Jaeger cursed as he ran for his life. This was one of the monsters Masa had warned him about. He didn't think he would run into one so quickly.

"Sir!"

Jaeger looked up to see two armed men far ahead of him. They noticed the monster chasing after him and quickly took off, cursing under their breaths. "Shoot it! Shoot the goddamn thing!" Jaeger ordered as the monster attempted to swipe at him.

"We can't kill it, sir!" one of the men shouted. "We don't know how!"

Jaeger glanced back at the monster who was nearing him. The monster was nearing him with every step. He was going to die if he doesn't do something soon. Jaeger quickly aimed his gun at one of the mercenaries. He shot the man right on the thigh, causing him to crash on the floor with a cry. Jaeger paid the screaming man no attention as he jumped over him. Jaeger and the remaining soldier disappeared around the corner, making a straight beeline towards the elevator in front of them. There was a roar and the sound of bones crunching, following the agonizing screams of the fallen soldier echoing in their ears.

The surviving soldier pressed his hands against his ears as Jaeger glanced at him indifferently without turning his head as he collected his breath. The two entered the elevator and the soldier frantically pressed the 'close' button. The man's screams died as the barred gates dropped down and the elevator's doors shut. The soldier quickly pressed the button to the second floor and the elevator begun to move slowly.

"Thanks for coming, friend," Jaeger said without looking at the man.

The soldier stared at the cold hearted man who just sacrificed their ally without so much as a hesitation. The soldier nodded, trying to even out his breath. "...We got orders from Captain Masa to come find you..."

"He only sent two?" Jaeger asked. "That man does not think of me as a friend."

"We started with eight...Sir, why were you doing all the way on the floor levels?" the soldier asked. "I mean, how did you get all the way down here?"

"I got lost, friend."

"The two lower levels are swarming with those...things. The floor 3 has some of them but we are in the process of keeping the infected count under control."

Without saying anything, Jaeger pressed the 3rd button and the elevator halted on the third floor. "Sir, what are you-"

The elevator doors opened to the sight of mercenaries being slaughtered and eaten alive by the infected. Screams of pain and random bursts of gunshots echoed from all directions. A few of the infected caught sight of the two and returned to the screaming body underneath them. A mercenary, desperately fighting for his life against four infected, turned to them and reached out towards them, screaming for help. It was hell.

The soldier felt a hand on his back, pushing him forward and out of the elevator. He landed roughly on the floor and gazed up to see Jaeger pressing the 'close' button on the elevator. "You should do your job. Good luck, friend," Jaeger said with a short wave of his hand as the barred gates fell down. "I hope to see you soon."

"No-NO-PLEASE WAIT-" the soldier screamed as the doors closed on him.

The doors closed shut and Jaeger stood in silence as the screams faded in time. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a polished silver locket that was wrapped in a white handkerchief. It was finely detailed and held no scratches on the silver jewelry. Jaeger caressed the surface of the locket, looking at it admiringly. No one else but he had laid eyes on it ever since he had gotten it; and he wasn't planning on letting anyone know of his prized possession. It was for his eyes only.

He remembered the lengths he went through to get this locket. He fell in love with the design the moment he laid eyes on the woman who wore it around her neck at the party he was in. He had strangled her with his bare hands after whispering sweet nothings in her ear and promising her a night filled with passion. He fled with the locket as soon as it was in his hands. It was a beautiful locket, one of a kind and he felt it was a waste hanging around that woman's neck.

Jaeger hummed a tune quietly as he opened the locket, revealing a woman's face. He gazed into the face, his eyes clouded with obsession. Her face gave him tranquility during his most chaotic moments. Without her, he would have surely turned into a barbaric maniac always on the hunt for blood. Killing was his passion and she helped him control it. Without her, he was just a pile of mess.

* * *

Helena and Leon treaded quietly through the narrow corridors. They could ear the echos of screams nearby. The two grew tense and held onto their guns tightly. Leon led the front and glanced back at Helena time to time to make sure she was doing well.

Once they found an entrance, they entered it cautiously, making sure it wasn't occupied. It was a bunk from the looks of messy beds around. After checking to fully make sure they were alone, Helena and Leon took a seat from each other. It was warm in the submarine compared to the cold outside and they found themselves sweating a bit. And now, with the tension in between them, the heat was unbearable.

Helena spoke first. "What would you like to know first?"

Leon wore a serious look on his face. "First of all, what's your connection to the hitman? Back where he gave us the bag of your butchered up dealer...you looked at him like you knew who he was."

"I...He's from my past," she started. Her words were filled with hesitation. "I...know him on a personal level."

"What do you mean 'personal level'? Did he blackmail you before?" Leon pressed, getting even more angry at the hitman. He swore he was going to get back at the hitman if he found out that he harassed Helena-

"He was my lover."

* * *

Jaeger kissed Helena's face in the locket. "I see you soon, beautiful," he whispered.

The elevator doors opened and armed men immediately aimed their guns at Jaeger. Jaeger frowned as he tucked the locket safely in his pocket after wrapping it up with the hankerchief. The men lowered their guns and moved aside for Jaeger to pass.

"Where is Masa?" Jaegar asked.

"In the central control room, sir," one of the armed men replied. "Please follow me."

Jaeger followed the man, passing by rows of heavily geared mercenaries standing firm against the wall. Jaeger glanced around and smirked, amused at the tension in the air. "There is trouble here."

"We've lost control of the third floor, sir," the man said. "We are taking precautions here."

Jaeger entered the large control room. The room was spacious with machines collecting dust; and broken controls littering all around the walls with chairs that were unoccupied. A lone table the size of two pool tables stood in the middle, surrounded by people. A tall figure stood in the middle with four other people dressed in suits, discussing something in low voices. The man wore a black muscle shirt that revealed thick muscles with black military pants and matching boots. He had holsters on his arms and thighs wrapped tightly. His thick brown hair was tied in a short, low ponytail and had an unkempt stubble. He wore a indifferent face as he listened in on the words of the people around him.

"Masa," he called.

The tall man turned around and frowned at the stench of blood coming from Jaeger. The people in suits followed, wrinkling their noses. "Where were you?" the man asked.

Jaeger frowned right back at the man. "I was lost. Why didn't you get my calls?"

Masa scoffed in amusement and returned back to the table. "You must have been inside too deep for reception," he retorted.

Jaeger scowled. "((Why are those things loose? I was almost killed by them.))"

"I am busy, talk to me later," Masa replied, waving his hand.

His mouth twitched at Masa's attitude towards him. The two were almost never on terms. If given the chance, Jaeger would have loved to behead Masa with his own hands. But the man was his superior and as much as he hated him, he loved the gore Masa left on his path. Masa was a sick man-sicker than Jaeger and Jaeger appreciated it. It made him feel less of a monster when someone like Masa was walking around. And after all...because of him, he met Helena, the light of his red life. His better half.

Jaeger realized that the two agents must have boarded the ship by now. He walked over to the camera controls and frowned when he saw that they were all broken or malfunctioning. Searching for them was now going to be a hassle in this huge ship. He could order the mercenaries for help but he wanted to be the one to kill Leon. And with the fight the two agents could put up, Jaeger knew the mercenaries would just waste them once they got the chance.

A menacing look crossed his face at the thought of Leon's name. That man had the balls to chase after his woman. He knew about Leon's affection for Helena. He could tell easily by the looks he gives her when she's not paying attention to him. He scowled.

_He doesn't know how long we had each other._

He slipped out his knife and twirled it skillfully around his hand before stabbing the controls in front of him. The noise lifted some heads around him but quietly shifted back when they saw that it was just Jaeger. Masa didn't even bother acknowledging the noise.

Jaeger was going to look forward in hunting down Leon.

* * *

Leon stared at Helena with a shocked face. Helena looked away in regret. He opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to find his words. Helena never felt so uncomfortable her entire life.

"...I see..." Leon finally replied. His voice was laced with disappointment and Helena wanted to say something to change the subject. But she didn't know what else to say to remedy the situation. So she kept silent and avoided looking at Leon's face.

"...I ended the relationship long ago," Helena added, hoping that it would help end the tension in-between them. "He was unstable and I..." Helena trailed off, earning a concerned look from Leon.

"And what? What happened?" he asked.

Helena broke a small smile. "He endangered Deborah. Gave her up to Simmons to get back at me."

Leon grew quiet as Helena's face pained at the mention of her name. "Deborah...was she really your sister?"

Helena nodded. "She was. Flesh and blood, she was my sister. My twin sister." She shut her eyes as her last moments with Deborah replayed in her mind. "She was pulled into this mess because of him."

Leon finally understood why the hitman didn't kill Helena when they were at the motel. He was playing with her, tormenting her. He felt his blood boil and swore to himself he was going to make him pay.

"Why did he come back all of a sudden?"

Helena grew silent. "I..." She bit her lips and lowered her head. She had to think of a lie fast. She couldn't tell him he returned to give the rest of her orders.

She was caught off guard as she felt Leon's hand on her shoulder, pulling her up. Helena saw that Leon was staring at the door they entered and turned her attention towards it.

Two mercenaries entered the room. One of the mercenaries took off her helmet, and grinned at the man. The other mercenary took off his helmet and threw it on the bed. The two clashed their bodies each other, kissing each other passionately. The man backed up the woman until her back was met with the locker that stood behind them. The man could have sworn he heard a noise inside the locker but left it unheeded as his lover begged him to enter her.

Inside the locker, Helena was pressed up against Leon. They had quickly jumped inside it without thinking when they heard the footsteps of the mercenaries closing in. Leon had entered first and Helena quickly followed at his heels, closing in the doors behind her. What she didn't expect was the locker to be so tiny. Leon was too tall for the locker and had to bend one of his his legs a bit to fit. Helena was unwillingly pressed up against Leon with her face planted close to Leon's chest and Leon's leg in between hers. She felt her face heat up at the position they were in. She turned her attention to the couple in front of them and then drifted her eyes towards a moldy clock on the wall across from them. Time was still ticking, they couldn't waste time anymore.

Leon glanced down at Helena who was focused on the outside. The sounds of moaning entered his ears and he couldn't help but think about what he and Helena could have if they were together. Leon chased the thoughts away. Helena was his partner. There was no way he could make a relationship work in between them. Especially when he didn't know how Helena felt about him. She was flirty time to time with him but never seemed serious. For heaven's sake, he had to force her to come and meet him during their coffee meets. He couldn't even call their coffee meets 'dates' because he didn't know what his status with Helena was-and he definitely did not want to ruin whatever he had with her.

"Touch me...right there," the woman outside moaned.

Leon did entertain the idea of Helena as his lover. More than he wanted. Thoughts like that would sneak up on him, give him erections at the wrong moments and send wrong impressions at the people around him. Helena was gorgeous to him and her lively personality made him love her even more. They complimented each other perfectly and he sincerely hoped that there was a chance with her.

Leon's eyes softened at her. Helena had her hands and head pressed against his chest. He wondered if she could hear or feel his heart beating. The way she was so close to him and the way he had his arms around her made his heart throb. For the first time, he became nervous around a woman. With his experiences with some of the most beautiful women, Leon had no trouble with them. And here was this woman that turned him into a thirsty maniac just by being pressed against him. He wondered what he would become if he ever saw Helena naked.

The woman and the man moaned as they climaxed. The two breathlessly gazed in each other's eyes as they ended their intercourse with a kiss. "My god, I love you," The woman whispered.

Leon watched through the slit of the locker door as the couple begun to zip up their uniform and put their helmets back on. Then they exited the room and closed the door behind them. Helena was the first to step out. She quickly went towards the door stealthily and pressed her ear against it. She heard the woman telling the male that she will wait while he went to use the restroom. She slowly pulled her knife out without taking her eyes off the female. Leon stared at Helena as she slowly opened the door.

Then there was that side of her Leon worried for. When he first met her, Helena was someone who was afraid, hesitating, and unsure which side she was supposed to play in. She froze at the first sight of the zombies back in Tall Oaks and Leon killed his best friend to save her. When she encountered them again, whatever traces of the scared woman Leon saw was gone. When her goal became clear to her, to find her sister, Helena became someone who was merciless, unforgiving, and dangerous. She made quick work of the zombie girl in the elevator in Tall Oaks without a hint of mercy and shot her right in the face. When there were people that needed help, she just batted her eye and continued on her way.

Helena quietly stepped out, making not a single noise as she crept up on the woman. In an instant, Helena cupped the woman's mouth and slit her throat easily with her knife. The woman quickly collapsed into Helena's arms. Helena dragged the woman out of sight from the hallway and leaned her against the wall. She turned to Leon who stared at her with a disapproving look. "We don't have a choice here, Leon. We're wasting time here," she flatly said.

Even though she was right, Leon wished she wasn't. Then again, these people were hired to kill them and it was either them or Leon and Helena. As Leon heard the echoes of footsteps returning, he quickly moved Helena against the wall. He leaned against the wall across from Helena and pulled out his knife. As the footsteps got closer, he let himself glance at Helena again, who wore a focused face.

When Helena had her mind on the goal, it was like nothing could stop her. When hoards of zombies came after them in both at the campus and the Cathedral, she stood her ground and took every single one of them down. The closer she got to the mission, the serious she got. And the serious she got, she tended to forget about the rest of the world.

Right now, he still didn't know what was going on. She still had him in the dark and for some reason only God knows, he was following her, letting her lead him into the depths. Maybe it was for love. Leon laughed inside, finding the situation all too familiar with what he had with Ada. Maybe he had a thing for woman who made him work to get what he wanted.

Leon gripped his knife. He trusted Helena, even though he knew he shouldn't. Not after what Hunnigan had said. But he had to, just like how he had no choice in Tall Oaks. He had to let Helena take him wherever she was headed to and hope that she wasn't going to stab him in the dark.


End file.
